Page 25 of Lust
“This is the third known vice spot we’ve been to,” Liza mentioned. “Can’t one of the others canvas the rest?”
Joe shook his head. “You know these girls. You went undercover with them. They’ll speak with you.”
“I went undercover over two years ago,” she replied. “Turnover is high. Most of them are new, and the rest don’t remember me.”
“We have to keep trying. You know this part of the job isn’t fun, but we have to be thorough.”
Liza squirmed in her seat. She might not be feeling sick from the sense of lust, but sitting in a confined space with Joe had been another kind of agony. Now that she’d accepted he was her mate, and after their almost kiss, her body was in a constant state of arousal. Every time he moved, he filled the air with his alluring masculine scent, and he had no frickin’ clue it drove her mad.
Until last night, he’d been in another relationship. She couldn’t go telling him everything now. He needed time, and she needed to repair their friendship.
“We’re not going to get far at this time of day,” Liza pointed out. “There will be more girls in the evening.”
Joe shot her a skeptical look. “If we had another lead to go on, then great. But canvassing known spots is all we have.”
“We could always try the Port Authority. Keep an eye out for spotters. The trafficking rings could be linked.”
“Geoff and Houlahan are there. I’d rather follow this direction. My gut says it’s not trafficking related.”
Liza slumped. When did Joe become so relentless? It was getting hard to reconcile the Joe she knew then with the one sitting next to her. The hardness in him had come from somewhere, and if his abusive childhood hadn’t made him hard, then what had? Working with the FBI? Had it been so bad?
Or was it really as her guilt whispered... her fault?
She wanted to talk with him, to grab a beer, and watch a game like they used to. But she wasn’t even sure if Joe liked watching baseball anymore. He’d thrown their ball back at her.
The car drove past the alley she’d vomited in.
“Stop,” Liza blurted.
Tires screeched as Joe maneuvered the vehicle into the alley. They jolted to a halt.
“I may have a lead,” she explained and stepped out of the car.
Joe followed her into the alley.
“I was here the other day.” She pointed to the bloodstains on the ground. “A spotter tried to lure a teenage runaway. Mirabelle.”
Maybe it was linked to trafficking, after all. But maybe the spotter wasn’t a spotter. Maybe he was the killer.
“Whose blood is that?”
“I had to use excessive force on him.”
“Did you arrest him?”
She shook her head. “But I took Mirabelle to a shelter. She might still be there. We can talk to her and see what she remembers.”
“And what doyouremember?”
That was the question. She’d blacked out for half of it. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. The girl might say something about Liza’s loss of control.
“I need a coffee first,” Liza said. “Heaven’s not far. Let’s also grab a bite to eat and talk about it over lunch. Some of my family are probably there. They’d want to see you.”
He stutter-stepped and frowned at her. “Have lunch with your family?”
“Look, I know you don’t like my family much, but—” She wanted to say that he’d have to get used to them. Whatever disagreements he’d had with her brothers back in school had to be forgotten. As her mate, he’d have no choice but to get along.
She blinked. She was making a lot of assumptions. Joe didn’thaveto do anything. Since he had come back to town, he’d been throwing mixed signals. Maybe it was as he’d said. He didn’t want to be her friend anymore. But if that was the case, then why did he request her for the task force? Why did he almost kiss her? It couldn’t all be her pheromones luring him in. It had to come from somewhere.
