Lorie O - Strong, Sleek and Sinful

Paul sighed. “If it’s any consolation, when John questioned Chief Radisson about Perry Flynn the Chief got all hot under the collar, too. If there’s a bad seed in his department, the Chief is putting his neck on the line swearing it’s not Flynn. Apparently he gave him the Kathleen Long case today.”

“Okay,” Kylie said, managing to sound indifferent. If Perry was assigned the same case she was, though, they were going to start crossing paths a lot more often. She hated not being able to come forth with him. “If he did that, why is John all bent out of shape about him? You’d think if the police trusted one of their men enough to put him on this case, we could work together.”

“You could suggest it to John. He seems hell-bent and determined not to trust anyone down at the station, though. He damn near got into a screaming match over the phone earlier with the Chief for putting Flynn on the case.” Paul shook his head, letting go of her car door and taking a step backward. “If it’s any consolation, from what I’m seeing, Flynn seems to be more in your corner than out of it.”

When she looked up at Paul, he looked away, apparently unwilling to admit he’d seen her kiss Flynn. She needed to find out if every room in her home was bugged. “I’ve got a criminal to catch. Is there anything else?”

“Actually, there is. What are you doing now?”

“I thought I’d get online and see if I can’t get Mr. Pete to give me a rain check.”

“Good. When you get him online, call me. I’m going to run a check through all city office computers and find out who is online when he’s talking to you.”

“Good idea.”

“Some advice?”

“What?” She glanced up his slender body, not built up at all like Perry was, although Paul wasn’t a bad-looking guy. She smiled, still feeling irked over her lecture from John, but seeing Paul was doing his best to be diplomatic.

“Go somewhere other than your house so that you aren’t…” He hesitated, staring down at his shoes. “So you aren’t interrupted.”

She fought not to smile when Paul blushed. “Maybe I’ll find a good coffee shop and set up camp there for a while and work off my laptop. But I’ll call you once I’m online.”

Kylie leaned back in the black metal chair while nursing a damn good mocha latte. The richly flavored aroma drifted around her face as she licked her lips. She stared at her laptop and her buddy list. PeteTakesU wasn’t online.

In spite of the years she had behind her on the job, sitting and waiting and doing nothing was damn hard. More than likely John also viewed the live feed from her house. He saw her kissing Perry. And it was more than just a kiss. She raised her gaze to the street in front of the coffeehouse Paul had suggested. Kylie was the only one sitting on the brick patio in front of the small café. Across the street, a new-wave bookstore seemed to do a decent amount of business. There was a buy, sell, and trade record and game store next to it. On the corner, cars drove in and out of a gas station. Business as usual for a growing, progressive town and suburb of an even larger city.

Where were the cameras in her house? She knew there was one in the living room and two out front. But she wasn’t aware of any that were installed in the back end of her home. It actually surprised her that she didn’t pay closer attention to where Paul had installed them. In her defense, she’d been busy as well that evening, working to get her computer going and setting up passwords and screen names. It had been a normal day preparing for undercover work, and one she would do exactly the same if she were to do it again. But then she didn’t anticipate Perry sweeping her off her feet.

Was that what he’d done?

Kylie scowled. She was a professional, one of the best in her line of work. Her record was impeccable. There wasn’t an online predator she’d gone after that she hadn’t nailed to the wall. A local cop sniffing around her wouldn’t hinder her investigation.

“Damn,” she sighed, blowing out her frustration with a loud sigh. She was thinking about Perry as if he were lower on the totem pole than she. Yet picturing him, remembering how he grabbed her, damn near swept her off her feet with a kiss more powerful than anything she’d experienced in a long time, made him seem anything but inferior. The way he kissed her, touched her, got her off more than sex had with some of the men she’d been with in her past. She fidgeted in her seat, feeling her jeans rub between her legs, and closed her eyes, imagining Perry touching her there.

The chime from her laptop made her jump and she damn near spilled her latte in her lap. Not the kind of heat she was looking for, she thought, scowling at her computer screen.

You are so sexy .

Kylie stared at the words that appeared on her screen. She bit her lower lip, switching gears quickly, and posed her fingers over the keyboard. Nothing pissed her off more than getting her ass chewed, especially when she was doing her job. She didn’t like how John had brushed off the Suburban, indifferent to it having illegal tags when that appeared to her to add suspicion to her guy. She’d had cases in the past where her perp hunted young girls using an alias as well as being illegal in almost every aspect of his life. It was common for a sexual predator to live somewhere where his name wasn’t on a lease, the car he drove was not registered, and all efforts were made to keep his identity hidden. If John refused to acknowledge that, possibly he wasn’t doing his job right.

She stared at her computer screen, forcing herself to calm down and think only about being the bait this sick monster fed off, and bringing him in.

My mom might see you talk to me like that . Kylie clicked “send” and then glanced at her buddy list, which was empty since his was the only name on it. She added quickly: Why can’t I see you online?

I can see you, but you can’t see me .

She typed a quick, LOL , and then sat back, forcing a calming breath into her lungs, and reached for her latte. Glancing toward the small parking lot next to the café where she sat and then up and down the busy street, she saw life was as usual around her. She returned her attention to the screen. PeteTakesU wasn’t typing.

Maybe a bit of encouragement was in order. I didn’t get to see you last night . Then thinking quickly, knowing she needed to offer some kind of explanation for Perry, she took a sip of her latte and licked her lips as she grinned. I’m sorry about my friend’s uncle .

I saw you, though. You’re hot as hell . The bait worked. He accepted her explanation.

She watched the bottom of the box where it said: “PeteTakesU is typing a message.” May I ask you a question?

Sure .

Are you a virgin?

Kylie ground her teeth, outrage covering her with a feverish rage. Instead of dwelling on how this bastard preyed on innocent girls, she forced herself to focus on how Dani might talk to him. With her flippant, know-it-all attitude, she wouldn’t take crap off anyone.

Are you?

No. Sex is the best thing in the world. Do you know that?

Kylie envied Dani and her sisters. They were so socially adjusted, with one another to help out. Kylie imagined they fought. For a brief moment she remembered fighting with her own sister. Karen used to yell at Kylie for how she dressed, telling her repeatedly no one would ever ask her out if she refused to brush her hair and take care of herself.

Did her sister know how much worse Kylie looked after Karen died? No one noticed Kylie, and if they did they sure didn’t talk to her. She coasted through high school like a ghost, ignoring everyone around her and doing her best not to do anything to draw attention to herself. It wasn’t until college that she pulled out of that shell, once she left Dallas and decided she would rather live attacking life than running from it.