Twenty-four

Twenty-four

Del pulled onto Cat's street and glanced over at his companion. Emma hadn't said much since they'd left Sean's house. She wasn't always talkative, but she was definitely in shut down mode. That could only spell trouble.

"You'll like Cat."

She didn't respond. If anything, she looked like she had shifted away from him. She was definitely shutting down.

"She's very good at her job."

"Why would that have anything to do with liking her?" she asked, her voice very matter of fact, but Del heard the tension beneath it. He was good at reading people. It was one of the things that made him good at his job and good at managing his team.

"That's not why you would like her. I was just trying to make conversation."

She turned and looked at him. "Why?"

"Why would you like her?"

She released one of her irritated sighs. "No, why would you try and make conversation with me?"

"I thought it would put you at ease."

Emma shook her head. "It's clear you don't like me."

That surprised him and he didn't try to hide it. "I didn't say I didn't like you."

She snorted and looked out the window again. "If you cuss as much at your friends like you did to me, I would hate to see what your enemies would deal with."

"First of all, I'm a guy. A lot of us cuss. I know Sean has a pretty bad vocabulary. Add in the fact that you hit me with a board and broke my nose, and I think I have every right to cuss."

"We all have the right to say what we want. It doesn't mean you should though. There are limits to honesty. Or that's what people tell me."

He caught on to that last bit like a starving man. Del had always been someone who dealt in information. If he could know everything he wanted to about a situation, he could figure out what to do about it. It had to be the only reason he was so intrigued by Emma Taylor.

"So, people think you are too honest?"

"It's gotten me into trouble before. I don't always understand little cues other people pick up on. I often say things that offend others, even if I don't mean to."

Del digested that bit of information, then pulled to a stop in front of Cat's house. "You sound rude, but you're not trying to be."

She turned her head to study him. Even in the cab of his pickup, he could see her surprise.

"Yes. When I try to explain, I make it worse."

Sighing, she glanced past him to Cat's house. She looked so damned lost that he felt the need to fill in the moment.

"Hey, it will all work out."

She looked at him. "You can't know that. No one knows what will happen from one moment to the other. We can calculate every move we make, and it can all explode in your face. Letov is acting erratically, and that works for us on certain levels. But we can't be sure that he won't just pop off. Life is like that, you know. Sometimes things are going along and everything is just fine. Then, all of the sudden it isn't. Plans don't always work."

He knew she was talking about more than the present situation. There was a tone in her voice he had not heard before. She was almost wooden in the way she talked, as if she expected the worst to happen. Just knowing a bit of her backstory made him realize that most of her life had probably taught her that. Losing her parents, and now everything she had dealt with recently, it made sense.

Maybe it was because she looked so sad, or the fact that he had a couple younger sisters, he broke down. He couldn't force her to do something she didn't want to do. He agreed with Sean though. She needed to be in a separate house than her brother. Which left him with only one alternative.

"Would you feel more comfortable at my place?"

She blinked, then focused on him again. "Your place? As in your house?"

He nodded.

"I could go to a hotel," she said in a hopeful tone.

"Out of the question and you know it," he returned in a stern voice.

She frowned.

"Listen, I have a guest room you can use, and it's closer to headquarters where I plan on stashing you tomorrow night. After tomorrow night, you can go stay wherever you want."

And just like that, her tension seemed to drain from her. "You don't mind if I am up? I tend to drive people crazy when I work through the night."

He shook his head. "I'll have no problem ignoring you."

She offered him a shy smile, and he felt as if had won the lottery. "I would really like that. I don't do well with new people."

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said. "Let me go tell Cat you're staying with me."

She nodded and he slid out of his truck to make his way up to Cat's door. His lieutenant opened it before he could knock. Average in height and small boned, Cat often surprised people with her strength. That along with her amazing sniper skills, black belt in karate, and intelligence made her one of the best team members he had ever worked with.

She'd pulled all her hair up into a braid, and she had no makeup on. She was also in her PJs.

"Where's my house guest, boss?" she asked.

"In the truck," he said, stepping up on her front stoop.

She blinked and looked at him, then she snorted.

"What?"

"Uh, who beat the hell out of you?"

It was then that he realized he had just fully stepped into the light. Damn, as soon as he told her, it would be texted out to the members of the team. He was never going to fucking live this down. Hell, he would be lucky if they kept it within the confides of the team. Knowing Adam, everyone in his family would get the info too.

"Never mind. I just wanted to tell you Emma is going to stay with me."

"I can handle her."

He chuckled. "Not sure anyone can really handle Emma."

Her mouth curved. "So that's the way of it?"

The moment he got the meaning of her comment, he wanted to kick himself in the ass. He did not need his team speculating on why he wanted Emma at his house. No, wait. He didn't want her at his house. It was just that he knew she was tense about dealing with a new person after everything she had been through.

"No. Emma has issues with new people and places. She's just more comfortable with me."

The look Cat gave him told Del that she didn't believe him. That made her a good detective, but it wouldn't make his life any easier. There was one thing about Cat though. She was smart enough not to say anything about it.

"Tomorrow night I'm going to be at headquarters…something on the side, and Emma will be there. If you can spare some time on a Saturday night, I would really appreciate it. Adam is working too, but I know we'll need backup."

She nodded. "You got it, boss."

"Thanks. I'll text you the info."

He turned and walked back to the truck. Without looking, he knew Cat was already texting the rest of the team about his injury. Sure enough, his phone beeped signaling a text. He glanced at the message from second in command Adam Lee.

So, I understand there's a woman who can kick your ass and you're taking her home. -Adam

Cat was going to be pulling graveyard shift for the next three months. The woman could never seem to keep her mouth shut. He could trust her with work, but personal things…well; his whole fucking team was bad. They were worse than all the gossiping biddies at his grandmother's retirement home. The next week was going to suck.

He opened the door and hopped into the truck. Del was about to say something to Emma when he realized she had fallen asleep. In the weak streetlight, he could see the smudges beneath her eyes. She had spent more than one night burning the midnight oil; that was for sure. Knowing what little he did about her personality, Del had a feeling that her preoccupation with helping Sean had kept her up. There was a good chance that no matter whenever she was obsessing over something, she would have lots of sleepless nights. The fact that he wanted to know more about her was slightly disturbing. Prickly, obsessed women were not his thing. Ever . Still, she intrigued him enough to know that after this was done—and if she stuck around—he would definitely try to get to know her better.

With a sigh, he started up his truck and headed to his condo in Hawaii Kai. It was going to be one damn long day tomorrow.