Page 66 of Concealed

Dean thinks we’re close to getting a bite, and she’s supposed to be meeting up with a man who we hope is one of Zhang Wei’s flunkies tonight.

If we can arrest him, scare the shit out of him on felony charges, and turn him, we’ll be in a great position to take down the whole operation.

Always so many “ifs” and variables.

“You gonna make it through the shift?” Wallace asks.

And while I’m not certain how, I do.

Maybe the cop gods were smiling down on me because it was the easiest shift we’ve had since I got here with some traffic violations as the highlight.

Before going to the flop house where I’m meeting Dean and the rest of the crew, I text Rebecca.

I need to show her that just because she doesn’t love my job doesn’t mean that she couldn’t love me one day. I can keep in touch, I can make time for her, and a relationship between us could work – if we’re both committed to it.

Wyatt:I have the stakeout tonight. But I’m off tomorrow. Really and truly off. We’ll hang out?

Rebecca:I guess so. I mean, I don’t have any other friends, so might as well.

Wyatt:Don’t you even dare put me in the friend zone, woman.

Rebecca:Roommate zone? Is that a place?

Wyatt:Not a place where I want to be. Do you want to fuck all your friends and roommates?

Rebecca:That’s exclusive to you.

Wyatt:Good enough. Then stick me in any zone you want.

Rebecca:Be careful tonight, okay?

Wyatt:Always. I’ll be home. I promise. I’ll come to kiss you.

Rebecca:You better.

I understand that it’s not easy to have your partner leave the house for work and be unsure if he’ll come home. Anyone can get in a car accident or caught up in a terrible tragedy, but first responders are putting themselves in the line of fire – sometimes literally.

You have to really love someone to be willing to deal with all of the unknowns, and that’s why I assumed my life would consist of casual hook-ups rather than racking up divorces.

But Rebecca is making me want to figure out how the hell to make a real relationship work, despite the challenges.

I drive an undercover car to the flop house and park a few blocks away, going in the back door like a regular cat burglar.

Dean is completely transformed, and while she’s a small woman to begin with, she genuinely looks like a high schooler now. Anyone watching her on webcam would assume that she’s about fifteen years old, and that’s exactly what these guys want.

Fucking perverts.

“I have a new appreciation for women who had to wear corsets,” Dean greets me.

But rather than enhance her curves, whatever she’s wearing is designed to diminish them. The high ponytail, graphic T-shirt with a picture I don’t recognize, and ripped jeans make her look like she’d be better suited to wearing a backpack than a holster.

The house is dark, but the room has been set up to look like a young girl’s sanctuary with posters on the wall and even a few teddy bears.

Jesus.

What is the matter with people?

Childhood flies by and violently stealing innocence before it’s time for kids to grow up should be punishable by death. Tonight, it’s a cop they’re trying to fuck with, but that’s not always – or even usually – the case.

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