Secret Desire. Gwynne Forster

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СКАЧАТЬ face in a smile that lit up everything around them. “You may never get rid of me. If you don’t make some soon, I’ll put in a request. Bet on that. Just thinking about gingerbread gives me a high.”

      She joined in his merriment, more comfortable with him in the lightened mood. “Ever the officer. Imagine getting high on gingerbread. Well, if that’s what revs your engine.”

      He grinned again and his left eye flicked in a deliberate wink. “That, and one or two other things. See you later.”

      He strode toward the door with a seductive swing, as though his rhythmic gait had been choreographed by a master choreographer. My Lord, she thought, walking toward me or striding off, the man oozes sex appeal. She’d have her hands full trying not to become attached to him. He was used to giving orders, to controlling people, and she’d had enough of that. Her one priority was to establish her store in order to take care of Randy and herself. Falling for a man, even a handsome catch like Luke Hickson, didn’t fit into her plans. But oh, how tempting he was!

      Chapter 2

      No sooner had Luke gotten back to the precinct and settled down to work than Axel Strange strolled into his office without knocking and took a seat. Ten years on the force, nine of them at that precinct, and he still couldn’t warm up to the man.

      “What can I do for you, Lieutenant?”

      Axel leaned back in the chair and crossed his right leg over his left knee, as comfortable as if he were in his own office. “I’m told you know where the cutter is.”

      Luke lay his pen beside his writing pad and prepared for some of Axel’s sleuthing. Something about Axel Strange reminded him of grease, always had. He never meant precisely what he said, leaving himself an out. His words had to be decoded. And just when you had to depend on him, he wasn’t there. The man never talked about himself, but he always had the goods on his fellow officers and didn’t mind talking about them. He didn’t exactly dislike Axel, but he was more comfortable when the man wasn’t around.

      Luke let his gaze roam over Axel, cataloging the things that irked him. “Unless someone used that cutter after I did, it’s in its place. Why are you asking me, anyway? Speak to the sergeant in charge of storage.”

      Axel shifted his demeanor from amiable to harsh, checked himself and produced another smile. “I just thought you’d know. By the way, who was the woman? I tell you, I couldn’t believe you spent most of your day off looking after some dame. Must be some dish, huh?”

      Luke stiffened. A little of Axel could last him a long time. “Read the log, man. I’m sure it contains everything you need to know. Cowan’s on that beat, and he can handle anything that comes up. I’d better get busy.”

      It surprised him that Axel didn’t move, and he wondered if he’d finally have to pull rank on the man.

      “Rick—you know, the waiter at River Café—said you had a sharp-looking gal there with you last night that he didn’t recognize. Couldn’t have been the same woman, could it?”

      Luke strummed his fingers on his desk, his patience waning. “I’m surprised you consider that your business. It isn’t.”

      Axel’s smile was about what he expected, given that the man could back away from a position with the swiftness of an Indianapolis 500 racer. “Everybody’s curious about you, man. We’re all waiting for the boss to be had.”

      Luke picked up his pen, signaling the conversation’s end. “Fortunately, I am not gullible enough to believe the men in this precinct have nothing better to think about than my private business. Since we’ve both got work to do, I suggest we get to it.”

      The ugliness that glazed Axel Strange’s face so quickly that it was hardly discernible sent a shot of adrenaline streaking through Luke—pure animosity, and he knew he hadn’t imagined it. He’d never regarded the man as an enemy, and maybe he wasn’t, but he’d bear watching.

      Luke missed his camaraderie with Jack McCarthy, whom he’d replaced as detective captain when the man retired, and he enjoyed an occasional lunch with him.

      He sat at his favorite table in the River Café, facing the door, when the old man walked in, tall, straight and still striding with the regal bearing of a five-star general.

      “Great to see you, Luke. How’s it going? Chopped any heads off yet?”

      That brought a laugh from Luke because he’d come to expect that question whenever they met. “How are you, Jack? I haven’t, but my fingers are getting itchy.”

      McCarthy ordered two beers for himself. “One of the rewards of retirement,” he explained. “How are you and Strange getting along?”

      Luke cocked an eyebrow. “Fried Norfolk spots today,” he told the waiter before turning his attention to his friend. “Do you expect Axel to be a problem?”

      Jack enjoyed his first swallow of beer, shook his head and laughed. “Luke, that man is a problem. Don’t you know he submitted a written application for every promotion you got? Of course, he lost to you every time. I told him it wasn’t even a contest. By the time I retired, he’d become obsessed with you. Wanted to know about your assignments, expense accounts, semiannual evaluations, and I don’t know what all. I told him the way to beat you was to do a better job.”

      “Well, I’ll be doggoned. I just thought maybe he’d dragged himself up by his bootstraps, and that accounted for his grabbing at everything he saw. It wouldn’t hurt him to try hard work.”

      “Not a chance. I gave him that choice many times, but if he took it, I saw no evidence of it. He takes the easy way every time, and that’s unusual for a man with his background. He comes from a topflight family of self-made men, but he doesn’t like work and he’s devious. I’d watch him closely.”

      Luke sniffed the aroma of sizzling spots and hush puppies as the waiter set the plates on the table. “Yeah.” He bit into one of the deep-fried balls of spicy corn bread and let himself enjoy it. “I’m glad you told me about Strange, because I’ve been planning to reassign him. I think I’d better wait on that.”

      After saying goodbye Luke headed back to the precinct, pondering Jack’s admonition about Axel as he drove. He’d rather not have to deal harshly with any of his staff, but if Axel challenged him, he’d teach the man a lesson.

      Several days later, Randy raced into the bookstore from his one-hour sojourn at PAL. With a pout that Kate recognized, he flung his book bag on the counter near where she stood waiting on a customer. She stared hard at him until he greeted her and the woman, moved his books and went into her office. A week earlier, he would have ignored her silent reprimand.

      “What’s the problem?” she asked him after the customer had left.

      “That place is like the army,” he grumbled. Even in that short time, his manners had improved, for he answered her without hesitation.

      “You agreed to go, Randy, and you’re going. You have to keep your word. Why are you complaining?”

      “Keep my word. Keep my word,” he mimicked. “I heard that fifty times every day I’ve been there. Next week is my week to deliver stuff to some old people. A guy drives the truck, and I get out and take the stuff in.”

      She СКАЧАТЬ