Page 70 of Roughing
I’d never felt more helpless. Action was my middle name, and having patience rubbed against the essence of who I was. Worrying about Trelika but not being able to assist in her rescue was the hardest thing I’d ever done.
I stared so hard at the alley behind the Uni my head hurt. That bastard wasn’t sneaking away without us noticing. Keeping tabs on him might be the best we could do, but I wasn’t past tailing him or even tackling him if necessary. Whatever it took. Desmond was not getting away on my watch.
Michella’s head rested on my shoulder, bringing some measure of comfort. Her nearness spread warmth throughout my body despite my hyperalert status. I considered our options, such as ringing the bell at the front of the Uni and forcing him to come to the door. Then what? We’d be fools to go inside and put ourselves at his mercy. Desmond was most likely armed, and we knew he was dangerous.
“By the way, good game tonight.” Michella gave me a quick smile before refocusing her attention on the alley. While rehashing the game wasn’t a priority right now, I recognized her attempt to distract us.
“Thanks. That was the best complete team effort we’ve played to date.”
“Well, look at you, being a team player.”
“I’m trying.”
We met each other’s gazes before she turned away. I sighed, frustrated with this feeling something wasn’t right between us. I could blow it all off and blame the weird vibes on our immediate situation, but that wouldn’t explain how she’d subtly distanced herself emotionally. I’d done something wrong in the past several hours and damned if I knew what. The last time we’d talked, uh, had video sex, everything had been fucking fantastic.
I wanted so badly to push the subject and find out. I wasn’t necessarily a patient man, and all this waiting made me itchy and irritated. Michella wouldn’t be pressured. She’d resist, and I had no choice but to wait until this situation was resolved and she was ready to talk about whatever else clouded those brown eyes of hers.
I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Both our heads snapped in that direction as an unmarked police car cruised leisurely past us and around the block.
“The cavalry is coming,” I whispered as if Desmond might hear me.
Another car passed, followed by a van. We were so busy watching the gathering of police vehicles we jumped when someone tapped on Michella’s window. It was Carla.
Michella rolled down her window.
“Move your truck. They don’t want you interfering in what’s going down.”
“Where should we go?” I asked.
“Follow me.” She walked back to her car. I started the engine and followed her a block farther down the road to a parking lot for a boarded-up strip club. No one else was in the area except for a homeless man sleeping in the doorway of the derelict building.
We had a clear view of the front of the Uni but not the alley.
Carla parked and came back to the window. “Briggs, if you’re going to make surveillance a side hustle, you might want to get a less conspicuous vehicle.”
Michella and I exchanged confused glances before Carla snickered. Only then did we realize she was giving me shit about my big-ass truck.
“I’ll take that into consideration.” I winked at her.
“Are they going to arrest Desmond?” Michella asked.
My mind went through what little I knew about capturing criminals from crime shows, which was pretty much nothing and probably not at all accurate.
“He has an outstanding warrant. They’ll bring him in, then use the purse as probable cause to conduct a search of the building.”
“An outstanding warrant for what?” Michella’s shocked tone indicated Desmond was nothing like she’d pictured him.
“Traffic tickets, but it works.”
“They need to hurry. Trelika has a little girl who needs her.” Michella swiped at a tear that escaped down her cheek. I squeezed her hand.
“I understand. It’s out of our control. All we can do is sit back and watch.” Carla was sympathetic but matter of fact. Her phone buzzed, and she moved away to talk privately.
“I’m worried. What if they don’t get to her in time? What if he notices all this activity, panics, and kills her to destroy his witness?” Michella’s worried gaze hurt my heart, but I didn’t have the power to make it better in this situation.
“You heard her. It’s out of our hands, babe. We have to trust the professionals.”
“I’m the one who discovered the purse,” Michella pointed out, and I rushed to make amends for my mistake.
