Page 4 of Cops and Robbers

Raz shoved the desire down and studied the report in front of him. The lipstick style and shade matched a large product-shipment delivery that had been stolen from RNA Boutique. Sakura Bloom had since become the best-selling lipstick internationally just because she stole it. The Bubblegum Bandit’s popularity was boundless. Authorities had tried to conceal the robberies, but after her third success, the national news ran with the story. Her MO of marking her targets with a lipstick print and bubblegum was too iconic to not grab people’s attention. And now, she was after her next target only mere days after the previous one. She’d never gone from one scene to the next so quickly, and he had a feeling he could catch her in a mistake this time.

A knock thudded at Raz’s door.

“You ready to go?” the Assistant Special Agent in Charge said, giving him an expectant look with her deep-set brown eyes. She’d slicked back her wiry curls into a tight bun, letting everyone in the office know she meant business.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Raz rubbed his hand over the bald spot near his crown. The still-tender skin throbbed where burning scaffolding had nearly killed him a month ago.

Regan frowned, eyes following the movement. “Don’t you dare take a risk like that again.”

“You should know me better by now. I’ll never leave someone behind.” He hadn’t thought twice when he ran into the burning building to rescue a fellow officer, knowing he was the only one around with advantages as a dragon shifter. He could fortify his limbs with the power of his dragon, making him stronger and move faster. It had been the difference between life and death for both of them.

Regan sighed and clapped the doorframe a few times. “Let’s get her tonight. I’m counting on you. Oh, and that pen is out of place.”

Raz glanced at the three pens aligned at the head of his desk, trying to think of a smart comeback to her jab at his tidiness. Before he could speak, she turned on her short-wedge heels and marched away from his office. He grimaced and rubbed his temples. Impatient dragon scales scratched along his spine.

Two days had passed since the Bubblegum Bandit marked her target. Which meant she would make her move within the following week. He’d expected her to grab it when they had cleaned the jewels, but that night had been uneventful.

What was she waiting for?

If she was Matsuda’s master thief Midnight, he had to bring her in to stop Matsuda from unleashing killer demonic forces. She may have been the only one to see Matsuda face-to-face in the past five years.

Once more, Raz stared at her fingers resting on the display case. He ground his teeth against his dragon’s insistent badgering and jumped to his feet.

You’re mine.

Traffic was normal for evening hours in Chicago—congested. Frayed, impatient nerves ate at Raz as he whipped his brand-new Charger onto alternate routes to avoid traffic. He still arrived at the gallery later than he wanted. After parking in the garage, on a street across from the gallery, he beelined toward the surveillance van. The vehicle with a plumbing-service logo sat on the second floor of the parking garage. A nice location directly across from the room housing the Wet’n-Wilder art collection’s pricey lingerie.

With his Cubs baseball hat in place, Raz knocked on the back door. He waved to the camera feed hidden on the truck’s rear end.

Nothing happened.

He tapped lightly on the door. Someone should have been inside watching the feeds. He knocked a second time before the back door opened just a crack. Finally.

Raz slipped inside.

Hot, humid air clung to his skin. A fan blew from the upper right. Raz chewed his mint gum, dampening the body odor and rank stench of the two sweaty men watching live feeds in the messy space.

“You guys sleeping in here?” Raz asked Pete and Ryan while he gazed around their screens.

Pete, a junior agent, sat in front of the six video outputs, three belonging to cameras on the van while, the others pointed at the lingerie. Ryan, whose enormous frame dwarfed his seat, was handling eight feeds surrounding the building to cover as many points of entry as possible.

“Angle was off in the back camera,” Ryan mumbled, struggling to keep his eyes open. “We didn’t see you.”

Raz might have believed him had Pete not let out a loud yawn and rubbed at a red mark on his cheek.

“Uh. Huh,” Raz said. “Stay sharp.”

With multiple windows on each floor, the gallery was a nightmare to guard. The owners had been adamant about not moving the art show, raising red flags for Raz. Brooks, the art collection’s creator, wanted to keep the item on display to attract potential buyers.

“Removing the lingerie would destroy the show’s aesthetic,” the artist had said. “All the other pieces play off it. You can’t judge the price of the others without it.”

Money poured out of Brooks’s ass and people were willing to pay outrageous cash for his risque paintings bejeweled with expensive gemstones, as absurd as that sounded to Raz. He’d taken a second look at the size of the insurance policy Brooks had taken out on the jewels and didn’t wonder why he wasn’t afraid of the Bubblegum Bandit.

Pete sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. “Been boring for the past couple of hours since rotating. Brooks only had a few private showings earlier today. They locked up around fourteen hundred hours.”

Nothing seemed off on the live feeds. Raz stepped backward, and a pile of Twinkie wrappers crinkled under his foot. Did someone rob a vending machine? A stash of chips sat under Ryan’s desk; sugary treats spilled out from under Pete’s, and bottles of various sodas lay next to the mini fridge.

Kicking at the wrapper pile, Raz murmured sarcastically, “Did you guys need any other supplies? You know, maybe water or something a little less sugary?”