Page 1 of Entertaining Distraction
1
“Goddamn it!” Charlotte Roth slammed the landline phone down and stood from behind her desk laden with paperwork and folders. Sifting through three stacks of files, she found the one she needed. Grabbing her cell phone, purse, and car keys, she headed for the reception area of the Florida Department of Corrections, Tampa Probation and Parole office. Her holstered weapon and her DOC shield were attached to the belt of her pants. “I’m heading to booking. I’ll be back later.”
The department’s receptionist, Julie Baxter, glanced up from her computer screen. “Which one got arrested?”
“Hector de la Cruz. Got caught up in a stolen property sting, the rat-bastard.”
“You called it,” Julie replied as she referenced her desk calendar. “And with three months to spare.”
Over the years, Charlotte had gotten pretty good at guessing which of her ex-convicts would end up back in prison for violating the terms of their parole. De la Cruz had been an easy one, and even though she’d estimated he’d be screwing up within six months of his release, she was still a little surprised he’d done it so soon. His arrest just made her Monday morning even crappier. She’d already been irritated when she woke up and remembered today was her thirty-fifth birthday—she hated birthdays. To top it off, a bunch of women she knew were throwing her a party tonight. She didn’t mind the festivities as long as they were for someone else. But her friends had insisted on taking her out for food and drinks tonight, and in the end, it had been less of a hassle to accept than deal with their constant badgering. She’d even tried to thwart their plans by playing the Domme card, but it hadn’t done much good outside of the club they all played in. She must be getting soft in her old age. Then again, she preferred dominating men, not women.
By the time she reached the Tampa PD’s booking department, on the other side of the city, she had a pounding headache. After parking in the monitored lot, she found the bottle of Tylenol she kept in the center console between the front seats and popped two in her mouth. She washed them down with water from a small bottle she kept in her purse. Grabbing the file, she climbed out of her Chevy Tahoe and strode across the lot. The summer heat was returning, and by the time she reached the door, she was covered in a fine sheen of perspiration. Thankfully, they’d gotten the air conditioning fixed since the last time she’d been here, because a cold blast cooled her down immediately as the door closed behind her, causing goose bumps to pebble over her skin.
The older police officer sitting at the desk behind bulletproof glass waved to her. “Hey, Charlotte, long time no see. How’s my favorite parole officer?”
“I’m in a pissy mood and on my witch’s broom today, Dan.”
The man snorted, then grinned. “When aren’t you? At least you didn’t bring the flying monkeys with you. Who’re you here for?”
“Hector de la Cruz. Detective Webb called me about a stolen property sting.”
“Yeah, they brought in a bunch of them.” He checked a piece of paper in front of him. “Let’s see. Here he is—still in holding cell four, waiting to go for his arraignment.” A buzzer sounded as he unlocked the door leading to the containment area for her. “Go on back.”
“Thanks, Dan.”
Having been there numerous times, she knew exactly where she was going. She found Isaac Webb and several other detectives in the area where they processed the paperwork for their arrests. Between them chatting with each other, radios squawking, prisoners complaining their rights had been violated—yeah, sure—and phones ringing, it wasn’t surprising Webb didn’t notice her until she dropped the file on the desk he was sitting at. His head snapped up. “Oh, hey, Charlotte. Thanks for coming so quickly. We’re getting ready to run de la Cruz and a few others up to court. I’ll put him at the top of the list, so we can get you out of there as soon as possible.”
She shook her head. “Thanks, Isaac, but that’ll be impossible. Judge Hard-ass is on the bench today for arraignments.” The man’s name was Phil Hardacre, but due to his courtroom demeanor, everyone called him by the moniker he’d earned, yet only when he wasn’t within hearing distance. The bastard had no trouble throwing around the words “contempt of court” no matter which side of the law you were on.
The handsome black man groaned and rolled his soft brown eyes. “Fuck.” He glanced over his shoulder to where the other detectives were finishing their own paperwork. “Hey, Duggan, next time check the damn court rotation before you schedule a sting, man. We’ll be in court all afternoon with Hard-ass.”
More groans and curses filled the room. One of the men crumpled up a piece of paper and wailed it at Duggan’s head. He batted it away before it made contact. “Don’t blame me. The lieutenant picked the date. I had nothing to do with it.”
There were more groans and wads of paper thrown across the room. Ignoring everyone else, she turned back to Webb. “So, how’d you get roped into this detail?” The man was a homicide detective, so having him take part in a property-crimes sting was a little out of the ordinary, but not unheard of.
“Took it for an overtime shift. Marian’s birthday is coming up in two months, and I want to surprise her with a trip to Hawaii. She’s always wanted to go.”
Charlotte grinned at the mention of his girlfriend of three years. “Any chance you’re planning on making an honest woman out of her?”
Webb chuckled. “As a matter of fact, I already picked out the ring.”
Her eyebrows shot up—she’d only been busting his chops. “Seriously?”
“Yup ... with a kid on the way, the time’s right.”
“That’s great, Isaac! Congratulations!”
A sappy grin spread across his face. “I love her two kids like they were my own, but they’re both girls. I’m hoping this will be a boy. But either way, it’s gonna be awesome. I didn’t have the whole infant bonding thing going on with the girls. They were five and six when Marian and I met. And let me tell you, they’re over the moon that a new baby is on the way.”
Pulling out his wallet, he showed her a recent picture of him, Marian, and the girls. “That’s Crystal on the left, and Reba on the right.”
“They’re adorable.” A flash of something she couldn’t quite identify swirled in her gut. She loved kids, but didn’t think she’d ever have one of her own. First off, she hadn’t met anyone she was willing to have a long-term relationship with—it had to be someone willing to be topped—and even then, she was scared of bringing a child into this cruel world. It was impossible to watch a kid twenty-four hours a day and cushion them in bubble wrap so they never got hurt. Charlotte knew firsthand no one was ever really safe, even in their own home.
Handing him back the photo, she pushed the wayward thoughts from her mind. She steeled herself to spend the rest of the day in court, then put on a fake smile for her party later on. If the women who were taking her out weren’t looking forward to a girl’s night out without their significant others, she would’ve found a way to cancel. But the Domme in her couldn’t disappoint them. Besides, after dealing with mostly dirtbags all day, she needed a distraction—an entertaining one at that.
* * *
“You really don’t mind?”
