Page 29 of Tough as Steele

Londyn explained her needs. “We don’t have the resources to pay you.”

Sierra cleared sleep from her throat. “No worries. A woman has been kidnapped. We’ll gladly help without any charge. Text me the address, and I’ll leave immediately.”

“Thank you so much. I’ll owe you one.” Londyn forwarded the address to Sierra.

“She’ll meet us there.” She looked at him to gauge his mood.

“Excellent.” He glanced at his watch. “Going on six. Time is ticking away fast. Assuming Wendy told the truth, Mimi’s been missing for seven hours now.”

He didn’t need to tell Londyn that. Her internal clock was counting down, each minute a pressure point in her brain.

They needed more help and needed it quickly. “What would you think about having my sisters and cousins helping with the investigation? They could start with doing the interviews we need to conduct and background research on potential suspects.”

“I’ve already assigned uniforms to do some of the interviews.” He glanced at her, eyes narrowed. “But it sounds like you think your family would do better.”

“They all have years of experience in law enforcement, and I can vouch for their skills. Plus, both our agencies are short-staffed and are responding to urgent calls only. Could take uniforms quite some time to get to the interviews.”

“Works for me. I’m game for whatever moves things along the fastest.”

She appreciated his easy acquiescence but had to wonder about it. Was it because of his LT’s ultimatum or because he really did like the idea? They rode for five minutes in silence. A weighty, uncomfortable silence that felt like rough wool against her skin until she couldn’t stand it any longer.

She swiveled in her seat. “Have you been a detective for long?”

“Three years.” He shot her a quick look, that firm mask that hid his emotions in place. “And you?”

“Five.”

“I got a late start,” he said as if feeling less for the fewer years. “Policing is a second career for me.”

“Which branch did you serve in?”

He glanced at her, his eyebrow cocked. “How do you know I served?”

“You had a moment in Mimi’s foyer where you and Damon connected.”

“You saw that, huh?”

“I’m a detective. It’s my job.” She smiled at him.

He flashed her a quick smile, a broad, earnest smile that lit his eyes and went beyond the earlier laughter to set her pulse beating faster. His eyes, the color of black coffee, gleamed, but it all evaporated in a flash. Did he not believe in having fun, or did he not think laughing was appropriate when a woman had been abducted?

Londyn wasn’t one to make light of such a thing, but law enforcement officers had to laugh at times not to explode from the tension.

“So which branch?” she asked again.

“Navy.”

She couldn’t even begin to imagine him in a crisp white sailor uniform or even the Navy’s formal navy dress blues. He had more of that frontline grittiness about him.

“Guess you like water,” she said to lighten the atmosphere when it looked like they were heading for that silent tension again.

“Not especially.” His offhand tone wasn’t unexpected. He wasn’t sharing willingly.

“Then why not join the army?” She pressed him just like she would do when interviewing a reluctant suspect.

His hands tightened and released on the wheel. She thought he wasn’t going to answer, but he stopped at a red light and gave her a tight look. “Joining the Navy was the only route to becoming a SEAL.”

Now she was getting somewhere. “You were a SEAL?” She tried hard not to have a fangirl kind of tone that SEALs often received from women. She had deep respect and utmost appreciation for the work they did to keep the country safe, so she didn’t want to come across like the badge bunnies she ran into on the job.

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