Unauthorized Affair (Unauthorized #1)(46)
Jen stopped working and stretched her neck, looking at the dwindling pile of paper that they hadn’t gone through yet. “What are we going to do if there’s nothing else in here to tell us who the mole is?”
Ivy stopped too and cracked her fingers. “I still think it’s Sadler. Why else would Savoy come after me? Unless Sadler told him something specific about me. I didn’t have anything to do with you dating Coleton, and supposedly that was why he was pissed.”
Ryker took off his cowboy hat and scratched his head. “What about the other cops who are related to Savoy? You could give them all lie detector tests.” He nodded at Hunter.
“Like who?” Hunter asked, leaning forward, his voice tight.
Ryker shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve just heard rumors. My mom talking with her sisters on poker night.”
“Who, Ryker?”
“Chief Carver.”
“What?!” Hunter shoved backwards and paced the room. “What the f*ck, Ryker!”
“I don’t know if it’s true, man. My aunts you know, sometimes they outright lie just to mess with each other.”
“Anyone else?”
“I’ve never heard any other names, although they’ve suggested there’s quite a few people that at least feed information.”
Hunter strode from wall to wall, his nostrils flaring, pounding one fist into an open hand. Jen watched him closely, feeling strangely excited by his energy.
“I’ve got to think about this. I’m going to take a walk. You guys keep working.” He glanced at the clock. “Unless you want to call it a night.”
He strode out of the house and Jen tried not to think of him alone, on the dark street, lost in thought.
Almost two hours later, Jen looked at the clock. 2 a.m. If he didn’t show up in ten more minutes, she was going to look for him. Ryker and Ivy had gone to bed an hour ago. She envied them, in the same room, probably snuggled in the same bed. They had each other. And Hunter hadn’t even raised an eyebrow when they’d asked if they could share a room.
She heard the door in the other room open and she tensed, jumping out of her chair to see who it was. She relaxed as she saw Hunter’s too-long hair and hard face. She flicked off the light in their working room and tiptoed out to him.
“Hey, any ideas?” she asked, slipping under his arm.
“No, just tons of questions. I’ve got a bit of a plan on how to proceed, but it all depends on us finding something to arrest and prosecute Savoy for.”
“Doesn’t everything,” Jen said, snuggling into his chest and trying to steer him towards his room.
He stopped at the doorway. “Jen, we can’t go in here together.”
She sighed. “I don’t want to sleep alone tonight.”
He seemed to consider. “I’ll sleep on the couch in your room. With the door open.”
That was better than nothing. “OK.”
They slept that way for the next two nights, Jen sometimes sneaking out of her bed and sitting next to him, lightly touching his arm while he slept. And when they’d cataloged every piece of evidence and cross-referenced it twice, Hunter finally admitted defeat.
“The best thing we’ve got here is Bainbridge’s wallet. But until we hear from Coleton where he got it from, I don’t know if it will do us much good. We have enough to pull a search warrant on all his houses, but we don’t know what we’ll find once we get there. He may have been on a search and destroy mission over the last few days, which means we would find nothing. Jen, message Coleton again. Tell him unless he calls we have nothing to go on. I’m going to think.”
Jen did as he asked. And when Coleton still didn't respond, she wondered if he was still alive.
When Hunter came back in the room, she saw a new energy and light in his eyes. He lifted his chin at her. “Gather all the evidence. And your phone. I’ve got a plan.”
Jen jumped up, excitement and hope building in her chest. She gathered everything and took it to Hunter. He smiled a dazzling smile at her and said, “Come on, we’ve got one stop to make and then we are going to ask to pull a search warrant.”
***
Hunter stole another sidelong look at Jen. She caught him this time and smiled. His heart skipped a beat and he smiled back. God she was beautiful. He replayed it in his mind again. When she’d said I still want you. And he wanted her too. He wanted her so bad he had to bite his tongue every time he saw her to not spill out what was on his mind. How beautiful she was. How special. How sweet and fresh. How he’d thought his heart would burst in fear, frustration, rage, and relief when the news came to him that she’d been attacked in her house, and then she’d saved Ivy. He wanted her so bad sometimes his body shook with the effort of holding himself back from touching her. From running his hands through her hair. From pulling her close and kissing her the way she’d kissed him. God that kiss. He’d felt the ache from it in his balls for three days. It was killing him, having her so close and not being able to worship her body like she deserved. Especially since she’d flat out begged him for it. He saw it when she looked at him. Every glance seemed to say take me Hunter, won’t you ever take me? And he would. He dreamed about it every night, waking up sweating with a raging hard-on, and hoping no one had seen it. If they could just get her safe. And close this case. Then he’d take vacation for a week and lock them into his house, into his bedroom, onto his bed. Or the kitchen table. Or the couch. Or the shower. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and tried to stop thinking about it. He couldn’t walk into the District Attorney’s office with his longing for this recruit written all over the front of his pants. He took a few deep breaths and recited his spiel in his head, anything to get his mind off Jen. This had to work.