Page 20 of Falling for Her

I press send and then turn my phone over, looking out of the conference room to see four desks—one in each corner of the room—empty, the people who were at them probably out on a call or doing whatever they need to do. The whole team is undercover, including this office space, which has the name of an accounting firm on the door.

My eyes go back to the whiteboard as I look over the different routes, trying to eliminate some of them. I’m leaning back in my chair with my hand on the armrest, when the door slams as Johnson carries in a big brown pizza box.

“Sorry about the late night,” she says, putting the box down in the middle of the table. “It’s the only time the guy could come out and meet with us.” She walks out to the little staff kitchen they have set up and comes back with paper plates in one hand and two bottles of beer in the other.

“It’s all good,” I assure her, sitting up and grabbing a plate from her and then shaking my head at the bottle of beer as I look around. “Where is Martinez?”

“He went home for a bit. His wife just gave birth a couple of weeks ago.”

I nod my head. “Nice.” I open the box and grab a slice. “You have kids?”

She sits in front of me, opening the bottle of beer and takes a pull. “Nope.” She takes a piece of pizza. “Was married for ten years to a Marine. We grew apart. You?”

“I have a son, Asa,” I tell her. “Was married, but then she cheated on me.” She shakes her head as she takes another bite of her pizza. “Got remarried to the guy she left me for this weekend.”

“Well, at least you can move on.” She smirks at me, taking a pull of her beer.

“I guess so.” I grab the bottle of water that is in the middle of the table.

“How long ago did you guys get divorced?”

“On paper, six weeks ago.” She whistles. “I found out about them a year and a half ago.”

“Do you share custody?” I nod my head as Martinez comes waltzing in.

“Hey, you two,” he greets us. “Our informant called and told me he’ll be here in about twenty minutes.”

“Perfect,” I say. “I might make it home by the time my son goes to bed.”

When the informant arrives, his eyes dart all around, and he looks like he’s ready to bolt at any second. We don’t get much out of him because he just started working for them. The only reason he’s out on bail is because he took a plea deal with the stipulation that he give up information.

I walk out of there two hours later. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” Johnson says, walking out right after me. “Maybe we could have a drink after we get done?”

“Thanks”—I open my door—“but it’s an hour to get home, and I just hired a nanny.”

“Got it.” She unlocks her own door. “Maybe next week, then?”

“We’ll see.”

She laughs. “Something a father would say.” She gets into her car, and I get into my truck. The minute I do, I forget all about her.

My phone rings as I get onto the highway, and I look over at the center console screen, seeing Hudson’s name. He’s been my best friend since high school. The two of us joined the academy together. I went on to become a police officer, while he went on to become a firefighter. He’s worked his way up through the ranks and is now a lieutenant.

Leaning forward, I press the green button. “Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” he snaps back, his voice filling the car from the speakers. “Where the hell have you been? I haven’t seen you in a week.”

“Yeah, I caught a case that’s taken me out of town.” I can’t give him too many specifics.

“Yeah, I’m sorry, man. I meant to check up on you the day of the wedding, but work was crazy busy. How you doing?”

“It’s been over for a while,” I tap the steering wheel, “so I’m fine.”

“Good. How’s the new nanny?”

“So far, so good. I mean, it’s been one day, and I didn’t get any emergency calls.”

“From what I heard, she’s smoking hot.”