Page 34 of Dirty (Chicago Underground 5)
“You’re not the first cop I’ve slept with, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“It wasn’t.”
I threw up my hands. “Then I don’t know what you want from me.”
He was definitely amused. “It’s the morning after. I declared my feelings for you. Now is generally the time you do the same for me. Unless you don’t have feelings for me.”
There was a protocol for this?
“Is that it, Shelly?”
He stood up and approached me, blocking me against the counter. His green eyes leveled with mine, measuring me, assessing.
“Is that all? Was I nothing more than a quick, meaningless fuck?”
Oh God, he was going to make me say it. And if I didn’t—what then? There were rules, apparently. Maybe he wouldn’t touch me again. “I have feelings,” I admitted sourly.
I waited for him to throw it back in my face, to smirk or boast. Instead he dropped a quick kiss on my lips and said, “Good.” Then he returned to his work, adding, “There’s bread for toast or fruit in the fridge if you’re hungry.”
Leaning on the counter for support, I caught my breath. Could it really be that simple, one declaration, then another? Could there really be hope for us, just two ordinary people caring for each other?
“I need to send an e-mail off. Can I use your computer?”
He hesitated for a moment before standing. He gestured to his laptop. “Go for it. It’s not traceable.”
I pulled up a browser and typed off a quick e-mail to Allie, asking her to check on Ella—and Philip. Trust but verify seemed like a good policy with them, the self-destructive good girl and the honorable bastard.
I believed that Philip would honor the terms of our deal, and Adrian could play nanny with the best of them. Ella was the unknown quantity. A girl with a crush was a dangerous thing.
But leaving her there had been more than convenience; it was a life insurance policy. If I succeeded with Luke, she’d go back to her old life, untouched and intact. If I failed, if I died, then the safest place for her was with Philip. Even if she had to pay rent with her body, at least she’d be alive.
After hitting Send, I turned my attention to the maps spread under and around the laptop.
“What are you working on?” I asked.
“Tracing Henri’s payment from the brothels in Roseland.”
“Ah.” Not so ordinary after all. I sat down heavily at the table.
“He wouldn’t have skipped town, not with his entire business running out of Chicago. He’d stay near the money, which means he’s around here somewhere.” Lines of tension appeared in his forehead. “We need to find him soon. He’s already running. It’s time to go in for the kill.”
Guiltily, I thought of the Barracks. For all I knew, it might not be a good lead. It could even be a trap. Maybe I was protecting him by not telling him. But that was a bunch of bullshit. He’d want to know. As it was, he would be pissed at me for keeping it from him.
I was distracted from my guilt when he pulled out a gun and set it on the table. It was slightly smaller than the one Marguerite had given me but shaped the same.
“Why’d you bring a gun to the club?” he asked, his voice deceptively mild.
I shrugged. “A girl’s gotta stay safe.”
He made a noncommittal sound. “Speaking of safety, do you know how to use the safety?”
I gave a nervous laugh. “Duh.”
Marguerite had showed me a little metal ridge before I left. I couldn’t have reproduced her smooth actions, though. I had been too scared to touch the thing. From the look on Luke’s face, he knew that too, and he didn’t seem very happy about it.
“I’m going to teach you how to use this.”
“Really?” I was sure he’d tell me never to touch one again, not encourage the behavior.
