Page 32 of Black Heart

Granted, she didn’t know that he had half the force in there with him drinking soda and eating pizza while they’d watched her rant about what an asshole he was and what she was going to do to him when she got out. Hell, even Hank pulled up a seat and had a slice as he took in the show.

“Come in,” he said.

Stacey, a uniformed officer in her early thirties, opened the door and walked in holding the large pile of yellow envelopes that he’d been waiting all morning for. Tristan walked over and took them from her. As she pulled back her hand, she ran her fingers suggestively over his.

“Thank you,” Tristan said absently, hoping it would be enough to send her on her way. He hated dealing with her. She always came on too strong and wouldn’t take the hint that he wasn’t interested. She knew that she was beautiful and any guy here would be happy to have her. The problem was that more than half the guys already had and he wasn’t interested in joining their ranks.

If that wasn’t enough to keep him from asking her out, the fact that he felt like he was cheating on Marty anytime he so much as looked in the direction of another woman was. He couldn’t explain it, but he’d never been attracted to another woman. Over the years, he’d forced himself to ask out a few women, but they’d all left him feeling like a cheating asshole for simply taking a woman out to dinner.

“Is there anything else I can do for you, Detective?” Stacey practically purred.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Marty watching this little scene intently. Interesting. Maybe he should let it play out to piss her off. He couldn’t help but notice how adorable she was when she was jealous, and she was definitely jealous. There was no doubt in his mind. She wanted him, but not as much as he wanted her.

That was simply impossible.

He would never purposely hurt her. Jealousy was a bitch that messed with your mind and tore at your heart. He knew that all too well since she made him jealous at least a hundred times a day.

That was another reason she had to go.

“No, I’m fine. Thank you, Officer.” He purposely didn’t say her name, knowing that any familiarity would only encourage her.

* * *

Marty watchedas Stacey’s smile slipped, but she still managed to send Tristan an inviting look before she left the office.

Marty cleared her throat delicately. “She was pretty,” she said as she watched Tristan toss the envelopes on his desk and sat down. That was followed by wondering what the hell was wrong with her?

He looked up with a knowing expression and grinned. “Jealous?”

Yes!

“No,” she said, only to glare when the bastard chuckled.

* * *

“What are those?”Marty asked, well, more like demanded as he grabbed the first envelope and opened it. She was a bossy little thing, he’d come to realize over the last couple of weeks.

Tristan sighed. This was really going to set her off. “The files of the missing girls from Massachusetts, Vermont, and a few towns south of here.”

“I thought we were going to look at those together?” Marty said, already pushing away from her desk before the last syllable left her mouth.

“This is just a hunch I’m playing out, nothing official. Therefore, I donothave to include my little stalker in it,” Tristan drawled as he spread out the files on his desk, preparing to create a database from them. He could have looked at the files online, but he always preferred physical copies.

“I’m helping,” she stated, not asked.

“No, you’re really not.”

“You still can’t type that well with your left hand. You need me,” Marty pointed out, looking so damn smug that it took everything that he had to bite back a smile. She was definitely a manipulative little thing.

“I can type fine. Besides, I’ll be doing most of the work at home.”

* * *

As she watchedhim organize the files something in her snapped. She was sick of him keeping her from doing her job.

“I’m helping,” Marty said firmly. “I wasn’t hired just to drive you around, pick up your food, and put up with your bullshit, Tristan. This is part of my job and I’m going to do it whether you like it or not.”

His hand stilled on the file he was moving as he looked up and met her glare. Perhaps she’d gone a tad too far? Yeah, she definitely went too far this time. He dropped the file on the desk and sat back in his chair, never taking his eyes off her.

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