Page 22 of Sinner's Secret

“It could be a member of the cleaning staff,” Nika suggested.

“You watch too many movies,” Baz said. “A cleaning lady would get caught if she tried to look at something on a desk for more than a second. No, this is one of you. Someone with a weakness.” He looked pointedly at the uniform who’d cuffed him and raised his voice. “Maybe it’s money trouble or a family member who’s been naughty.”

The cop sneered at him. “You want back in the cuffs? Spend some time in holding?”

“Touchy,” Baz commented, but he backed away, raising his hands for a second.

“Let’s get off the street,” Smith said. “You go in the cab, Nika, like planned.” He glanced at the rent-a-cops. “You two follow the cab to the station.”

They glanced at each other. “Look, this was just a misunderstanding. We should get back to our patrol.”

Nika’s partner gave them a hard stare. “You go anywhere else, and you’ll be the ones in holding.”

“Fine.” The two said, reluctance in every inch of their slow retreat toward their car. They even took the time to scowl at Baz before they got into their vehicle.

Baz got back into his car and pulled away from the curb as soon as Nika was inside and buckled up.

Neither of them said anything for several seconds.

“What do you think?” Nika asked.

“About what, those two?” he asked, angling a thumb at the police car in front of them.

“Yeah.”

“Light weights. If they’re involved, it’s only peripherally.” He glanced at her, but she was watching the cars behind them through the side mirror.

“I think they would have taken me out of this cab and driven me home,” she put air quotes around home. “Whether I wanted to go there or not.”

“Maybe they were told you were too emotional to make good decisions, and your so-called family member would take care of you until you’d calmed down.”

“Who are you, their lawyer?” she asked, pinning him in place with a stare so hot he wanted to check himself for burn marks.

He shook his head. “Light weights, remember?”

“Their attitude stinks,” she said, her tone hard. “Situational awareness requires a cop to listen to people, not ignore the wishes of a woman who might be in a dangerous spot. They gave me one option, to go home. No police station, hospital, or women’s shelter, all of which they should have suggested.” She shook her head, her hands now curled into tight fists. “They might be light weights, but they’re also shitty cops.”

“Point taken,” Baz said. “Are you going to report them?”

“I’m going to ask Internal Affairs to take a look at their case histories. See if they’ve done any other shady shit.”

“You’re mean when you’re mad,” he told her with a grin. “I like it.”

She sighed. “Shut up, Baz.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She glanced at him, suspicion narrowing her eyes, but he kept his gaze on the road and the smile off his face. Mostly.

He parked almost half a block down from the main entrance to the station. He didn’t want anyone to think he was available for a ride. The cop car with the two uniforms pulled into a space almost in front of the station doors. In the five-minute parking zone.

“Geez,” Nika said. “Do they think this is going to take five minutes or less?”

Baz would have gotten out of his car, but Nika’s team drove past and parked in front of his cab.

He got out at the same time as her partner did. They both headed for the space between the cab and the unmarked car. Nika’s partner wore an expression of suspicion mixed with derision, and as they came face to face, one corner of the cop’s lip curled up.

Nope this dude did not trust Baz at all. Which was actually smart, but he didn’t know that.

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