Hearts of Blue
Page 25
She sighed. “Yes, I have it. And just so you know, if you were thinking of hitting that, I’d be in no position to judge, especially after the shit I pulled with Stu the other night. However, being in your line of work, it’s probably not the best idea.” Her brows rose meaningfully on the none-too-subtle hint.
“It’s a good thing I have no intentions of hitting anything,” I said, drying my hands and returning to the living area.
“Well, you’ve got to hit something every once in a while,” she called after me.
I turned back around long enough to give her an Italian chin flick that said something along the lines of, “piss off.”
***
For the next couple of days, Lee’s number burned a hole in my pocket. Alexis had given it to me and I’d programmed it into my phone, but I was hesitant to call him. Depending on the person you were talking to, a phone call could be kind of intimate, and I knew for a fact it’d be that way with Lee. He had this way of making me feel strange and tingly, and I couldn’t deny he had a sexy voice. It was all deep and rough around the edges.
Anyhow, I was working the late shift, or the early morning one, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Keira and I were driving through town, keeping an eye on things. Sometimes it felt like I could wax lyrical about Camden at 2 a.m. on a Saturday. Litter covered the streets, blowing back and forth like waves in the ocean. People fell over drunk, scrambling for a connection they weren’t brave enough to seek sober.
Okay, so maybe not so lyrical.
The radio went off with a request from dispatch for us to go check out a violent disturbance outside a nightclub just a few minutes away. Keira hit the sirens, and within seconds we were on our way. When we got there, we found three men involved in a scuffle, two of whom were beating the crap out of the third. He lay on the ground, crouched in the foetal position as the other two laid into him. I didn’t hesitate to pull out my Taser, and the threat of incapacitation was enough to get them to back off. Before long, we had the attackers cuffed and sitting in the back seat of the patrol car, ready to take down to the station, while the bloke they’d beaten was being carted off in an ambulance.
I was exhausted beyond belief by the time I got home, dropping my keys on the coffee table and flopping down onto the couch. I could hear Alexis snoring lightly in her room as I closed my eyes and let out a weary sigh. I wanted to go to bed, but Lee’s number was still calling to me. I couldn’t sleep soundly until I’d let him know that his cousin might be in trouble.
Dialling his number, I waited tensely for him to pick up. It rang for so long that I began to wonder if he was going to answer. Then, just as I was about to hit “end,” his voice filled my ear, tired and sexy.
“Whoever this is, it better be important that you’re calling me at….” He paused, and I thought he must have been checking the time. “Five-ten on a Saturday morning.”
I cleared my throat. “Hi, uh, this is Karla. Alexis gave me your number.”
“Snap?” Lee asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes, I’m, eh, sorry for calling you so early. I wasn’t thinking. The late shift does weird things to my brain.”
There was a smile in his voice when he responded low, “You can call me whenever. Excuse the tone, thought you were Liam or Trevor looking for a lift home or something.”
“A lift home at five in the morning?”
“The young’uns like to party hard.”
I laughed involuntarily. “Oh, and what are you now, an old dog?”
“I’ve definitely got some city miles going on.”
I laughed, again. Man, he was charming even when he’d been woken up at an ungodly hour. “Pfft, you have zero city miles, and we both know it,” I blurted before I had a chance to think it through.
“Oh, yeah? You been checking out my miles?” he asked flirtatiously, and I heard the sound of sheets rustling. That reminded me he was more than likely in bed. I did not need to be visualising that.
I bet he sleeps naked, the dirty side of my mind mused, causing a tiny shiver to trickle down my spine.
“Anyway, I called you for a reason.”
He sounded amused. “My apologies. Go ahead.”
More rustling of sheets. God grief, what was he doing over there?
“Could you stop moving around for a second? The noise is distracting me.”
Lee let out a deep, raspy chuckle, and I swear it did me in. I found myself reaching for my shirt collar and undoing several buttons, feeling hotter by the second.
“Mm-hmm, easily distracted, are we?” His voice was pure sex, and I just knew that he was bare-arse nekkid. Nobody spoke like that when they were clothed.
I swallowed and tried to summon a steady tone. “Quit it with that voice.”
“What voice?”
“The distracting one,” I practically shouted and heard a gap in Alexis’ snore. It started up again a second later, and I exhaled heavily. For a second there, I thought I’d woken her up. Lee chuckled down the line, and the sound of it was so delicious that I felt it in my long-neglected lady parts.
“Again, I apologise. Now go on — tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”
I let the “baby” slide, because honestly, we’d be on the phone all night (or morning) if I didn’t get on with it. “Okay, so, the other day while I was working, I bumped into your cousin, Sophie. She had her little boy with her and his dad was there. They were arguing. I wouldn’t normally stick my nose in like this, but I think he’s been hitting her. When I asked if she wanted to report it, she brushed me off. I just thought you should know.”
“It’s a good thing I have no intentions of hitting anything,” I said, drying my hands and returning to the living area.
“Well, you’ve got to hit something every once in a while,” she called after me.
I turned back around long enough to give her an Italian chin flick that said something along the lines of, “piss off.”
***
For the next couple of days, Lee’s number burned a hole in my pocket. Alexis had given it to me and I’d programmed it into my phone, but I was hesitant to call him. Depending on the person you were talking to, a phone call could be kind of intimate, and I knew for a fact it’d be that way with Lee. He had this way of making me feel strange and tingly, and I couldn’t deny he had a sexy voice. It was all deep and rough around the edges.
Anyhow, I was working the late shift, or the early morning one, depending on how you wanted to look at it. Keira and I were driving through town, keeping an eye on things. Sometimes it felt like I could wax lyrical about Camden at 2 a.m. on a Saturday. Litter covered the streets, blowing back and forth like waves in the ocean. People fell over drunk, scrambling for a connection they weren’t brave enough to seek sober.
Okay, so maybe not so lyrical.
The radio went off with a request from dispatch for us to go check out a violent disturbance outside a nightclub just a few minutes away. Keira hit the sirens, and within seconds we were on our way. When we got there, we found three men involved in a scuffle, two of whom were beating the crap out of the third. He lay on the ground, crouched in the foetal position as the other two laid into him. I didn’t hesitate to pull out my Taser, and the threat of incapacitation was enough to get them to back off. Before long, we had the attackers cuffed and sitting in the back seat of the patrol car, ready to take down to the station, while the bloke they’d beaten was being carted off in an ambulance.
I was exhausted beyond belief by the time I got home, dropping my keys on the coffee table and flopping down onto the couch. I could hear Alexis snoring lightly in her room as I closed my eyes and let out a weary sigh. I wanted to go to bed, but Lee’s number was still calling to me. I couldn’t sleep soundly until I’d let him know that his cousin might be in trouble.
Dialling his number, I waited tensely for him to pick up. It rang for so long that I began to wonder if he was going to answer. Then, just as I was about to hit “end,” his voice filled my ear, tired and sexy.
“Whoever this is, it better be important that you’re calling me at….” He paused, and I thought he must have been checking the time. “Five-ten on a Saturday morning.”
I cleared my throat. “Hi, uh, this is Karla. Alexis gave me your number.”
“Snap?” Lee asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes, I’m, eh, sorry for calling you so early. I wasn’t thinking. The late shift does weird things to my brain.”
There was a smile in his voice when he responded low, “You can call me whenever. Excuse the tone, thought you were Liam or Trevor looking for a lift home or something.”
“A lift home at five in the morning?”
“The young’uns like to party hard.”
I laughed involuntarily. “Oh, and what are you now, an old dog?”
“I’ve definitely got some city miles going on.”
I laughed, again. Man, he was charming even when he’d been woken up at an ungodly hour. “Pfft, you have zero city miles, and we both know it,” I blurted before I had a chance to think it through.
“Oh, yeah? You been checking out my miles?” he asked flirtatiously, and I heard the sound of sheets rustling. That reminded me he was more than likely in bed. I did not need to be visualising that.
I bet he sleeps naked, the dirty side of my mind mused, causing a tiny shiver to trickle down my spine.
“Anyway, I called you for a reason.”
He sounded amused. “My apologies. Go ahead.”
More rustling of sheets. God grief, what was he doing over there?
“Could you stop moving around for a second? The noise is distracting me.”
Lee let out a deep, raspy chuckle, and I swear it did me in. I found myself reaching for my shirt collar and undoing several buttons, feeling hotter by the second.
“Mm-hmm, easily distracted, are we?” His voice was pure sex, and I just knew that he was bare-arse nekkid. Nobody spoke like that when they were clothed.
I swallowed and tried to summon a steady tone. “Quit it with that voice.”
“What voice?”
“The distracting one,” I practically shouted and heard a gap in Alexis’ snore. It started up again a second later, and I exhaled heavily. For a second there, I thought I’d woken her up. Lee chuckled down the line, and the sound of it was so delicious that I felt it in my long-neglected lady parts.
“Again, I apologise. Now go on — tell me what’s on your mind, baby.”
I let the “baby” slide, because honestly, we’d be on the phone all night (or morning) if I didn’t get on with it. “Okay, so, the other day while I was working, I bumped into your cousin, Sophie. She had her little boy with her and his dad was there. They were arguing. I wouldn’t normally stick my nose in like this, but I think he’s been hitting her. When I asked if she wanted to report it, she brushed me off. I just thought you should know.”
