Page 25 of Cops and Robbers

“Fine.” She picked up a slice of pizza and pointed the tip toward him. “But I will ask for it at some point.”

What are you fishing for? “How did you escape the field office?”

She licked her lips a moment before she blurred, and Jeff Cross sat across from him. Raz jumped back, appalled that the beautiful woman had transformed into the middle-aged, overweight male. Something shimmered along her outline, a telling of fakeness.

“Illusion?” he asked, mystified. “I had no idea Fallen had that power. But I guess that makes sense since Archfiends can use it.”

“We call it our Influence.” She turned back to her normal form. “But to-mae-toe, to-mah-toe, right?”

As she bit into the pizza, Raz’s stomach grumbled, but his thoughts were running too fast for him to eat.

He asked, “So, you what? Somehow knocked him out and put him in your cell, paraded yourself around the field office, impersonated a Special Agent, and ended up getting him suspended?”

Fury flashed across her narrowed features. Setting the pizza down, she gulped her bite. “Don’t sound so accusing, Raz. That man had enough sexual assault complaints to put him behind bars. And that wasn’t even the whole haul that I found about him—just a sneak peek of the problems with Mr. Jeff Cross.”

Her haunted expression held him steady. He sighed, releasing the frustrated tension in his tight muscles. Raz wasn’t sure he wanted to know what else she stumbled upon. The force had already been looking for a way to fire Jeff, but someone always kept covering up for him.

“I don’t like to use my Fallen abilities,” she said. “Stealing isn’t worth it unless there’s a chance I’ll be caught, but in that jail cell, you left me no choice.” Cheerfulness brightened her face, livening the minute wrinkles around her eyes.

Something twinkled deep in her gaze. Call it his detective instincts, but they screamed at him that this woman was up to something. She’d done research on Jeff Cross because she might have been caught. Or she wanted Raz to catch her, but why?

“What do you really want, Kate?“ he asked.

She shrugged. “A bath would be nice.”

“Here,” Raz muttered, handing Kate a bundle of his clothes and a towel as they stood in his room.

“You’re so considerate.” She rolled her eyes, heading for the master bathroom. It had taken heavy-duty persuasion on her part to convince him to allow her to bathe. Her last tease that made him cave was, “Why are you so put off by the idea of me naked?”

He might have wanted her to believe he wasn’t staring after her like a crush-struck high schooler, but Kate felt the heat from his gaze. The fed believed her to be a criminal, but she had weakened his armor. He wouldn’t have given up the cuffs otherwise. His consideration for her comfort undid something inside her because she didn’t see it as a manipulation. His face had gone tight when she’d hurt herself—the man was a caring individual. Too good for someone like her.

When she tried to close the door, he shoved his foot in the way.

“Excuse me?” she asked.

“Keep it ajar.”

“How will I know you won’t peek?” she teased.

He grunted. “I’m not so sure you’d care if I did.”

Her hand flew to her chest. “One way to find out.”

She clutched the onesie’s zipper and ripped it down. His copper eyes strayed lower, trailing warmth even where a cool breeze touched the open slit above her navel. With his jaw locked stubbornly, he spun around. She grinned from ear to ear. Even with the danger, she’d always enjoyed her sexual power over men, the thrill heating her chest. When they were younger, Naomi didn’t know what to think of her since she behaved far outside their cultural norms, but Kate loved attention. Being an orphan and never having doting parents, she had to seek that attention elsewhere.

Tight jeans hugged Raz’s ass and well-built thighs as he walked to his king-sized bed, whipping his phone out.

She turned to the bath, palming her warm cheeks. He’s so sexy.

She needed more than water to clean her dirty thoughts away. Never had anyone made her feel so off-balance. There may have been one man who had been close, but it had only been a ploy to use her. Her heart twisted and she closed her eyes. He’s not like Matsuda.

She padded fingers against her sore head. The challenge in Raz’s gaze in the kitchen combined with the mirth in his smile had sent her topsy-turvy, literally, onto the floor.

Toeing the door closed to a gap, she imagined that moment after she’d told her story. He’d leaned across the island, closing the distance with an intense desire in his eyes. Her breath had shaken as she kept her hands from reaching out and pulling him into a firework-shooting kind of kiss. The promise of it sizzled in the air between them, hot and electric against her skin. Ugh. She needed to stop thinking about it and get to work.

She turned around to inspect the bathroom, her mind whirling. She’d only wanted a bath to act as a distraction so she could snoop around. If he were a Dragon SEAL, he’d have their notes squirreled away somewhere. Since asking him outright might make him put his guard up, she’d have to find some dirt before confronting him.

Did dragons have a keen sense of smell? What about their hearing? She opened her mouth to ask the questions but closed it a moment later. Why not prepare for it all?