Open Wounds (Harbour Bay #2)(7)
He loved Caitlyn with all the world, but the woman was trouble. Sometimes he didn’t know whether he wanted to kiss her or strangle her, and now he was dealing with a stubborn subordinate. It seemed to him he was always dealing with the fallout of female hormones. He’d been lucky to survive his twenty-year plus marriage.
An ulcer burned in his gut. “It’s just not today, but every goddamned day.”
Darryl obviously felt the need to intercede on behalf of his partner, which only angered him more. “Boss, in certain cases sometimes it’s necessary to—”
Alec cut him off. “Shut up, Hill, I haven’t started on you yet.”
“Yes, Boss,” Darryl said, chastised.
Alec brought his gaze back to the current pain in his arse. Donovan was almost always causing him problems. “You can’t keep doing this, Donovan. You can’t beat up the suspects. It’s not your place to decide what punishment they get.”
Donovan’s eyes narrowed at him, and her mouth parted to say what he assumed to be a smart arse remark, but she was cut off when another voice—one not belonging to any of the three in the room—spoke.
“But that has always been your M.O. hasn’t it, Mia? Act first, think second.”
Alec turned towards the speaker. Kellie Munroe stood in the doorway with one hand on the doorframe and the other on her hip. Surprise momentarily registered on Donovan’s face before she stiffened, her expression darkening. Interesting. He glanced from one woman to the other.
“You two know each other?”
Donovan stared hard at Kellie. The same look, he noted, that often made a hardened criminal squirm in his seat but seemed to have no effect whatsoever on the blonde in the doorway. Again, his interest piqued.
Donovan nodded and spoke through her perfect white teeth. “Yeah, we grew up together. We were friends once.”
“I guess Mia doesn’t share the same fond memories.”
“I have one: your back walking away. What are you doing here?” She watched Kellie with a mixture of wariness and pain. He easily read his detective. She and Munroe were not on friendly terms, or at least Donovan wasn’t. He'd yet to suss out the other woman.
Christ, this was all he needed—more female hormones. The tension inside the room had gone up several notches and he could feel the temperature plummeting. He rubbed a hand over his face.
Kellie’s blue eyes turned frosty and her jaw clenched at Donovan’s words. She stepped inside his office, her hips swaying enticingly, and Alec wasn’t the only one who noticed. Darryl’s body had tensed and his hungry gaze swept over her womanly figure as if she was a banquet he planned to dine on.
Had his desire for Cait been so obvious all those years ago? God only knew, he’d tried to hide it, even ignore it. But some things were meant to be.
“I think you know the answer to that, Mia,” Kellie told her. “Michael Lambert filed a grievance against you for excessive force and bodily harm and from what I hear, he has the bruises to back it up. I’ve been assigned to watch you, every move you make.”
Donovan’s face turned red and her hands clenched into fists. He quickly moved between the two women before blood could be spilled and gave Darryl a steely warning that told the younger man his thoughts had not gone unnoticed. Darryl blushed and looked away.
“Like hell you are,” Donovan spat.
Kellie stepped closer to Donovan, seeming oblivious to the waves of pure fury emanating from her. “You have two options, Mia. Deal with me or you’re suspended without pay until my investigation is complete.”
Donovan stepped threateningly towards Kellie, who stood her ground. Alec’s respect for her went up a notch. Darryl started to move forward to intercede but he placed a quelling hand on the man’s arm. Darryl shot him a questioning look but he ignored it and focused on the women.
“You’re playing a dangerous game, Kellie. I don’t take threats lightly.”
Kellie laughed humourlessly. “It’s not a threat, Mia, it’s a promise. One I will make good on if you fail to include me in every facet of this case. That pain in your arse that you’re feeling right now—that’s me, and it isn’t going away until I do.”
Alec’s mouth twitched up at her choice of words. Hadn’t he just been referring to Donovan as his pain in the arse? It was a nice change of pace.
“Now that you ladies are reacquainted,” Alec said in a voice that told them he’d had enough, “let’s work together amicably for a positive resolution.”
He saw his tone register in the bodies of the two women and their backs both straightened at the reprimand and turned to him. Both were composed but the emotion swirling in their eyes told him this was far from over.
Kellie stepped away from Donovan and bumped into Darryl’s chest. She spun around sharply as if burned from the contact. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
Darryl grinned. “No worries.”
Alec let out a resigned sigh. “Darryl Hill, Kellie Munroe. If you haven’t already figured it out, she’s IA.”
Kellie obediently raised her hand for the perfunctory shake. Darryl wrapped his much larger hand around her and gently shook it.
“Detective,” Kellie acknowledged before turning back to Alec.
“Now,” he said, weariness creeping into his bones. “Are you going to be able to play nice together, or do I have to separate you?”