I almost laughed, but I reined it in. Tony held his hands out for Steve’s things, and Steve reluctantly handed everything over. When he turned to leave and saw me watching, he shoved me purposefully in the shoulder, muttering something like “nosy bitch” under his breath.
“Jesus, what happened with him?” I asked, looking to Tony.
“PC Pollard discovered him taking cash from the evidence room,” Jennings answered simply, before turning and, I’m assuming, going to have her date with that tuna sandwich. What she’d said didn’t surprise me. Tony and I shared a loaded glance, mine laced with thanks. We’d discussed Steve and his underhanded schemes a few times over the last few weeks during our shifts, both of us eager to catch him doing something on camera so we could have him suspended. It looked like Tony had been a busy bee.
“Have I ever told you how awesome you are?” I said, grinning.
Tony smiled and casually shrugged. “All the time. Can’t shut you up.”
I laughed and went to give his hand a squeeze before going back out and returning to my desk. When I arrived home that evening, I found Alexis had cooked roast chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner. My stomach gurgled, reminding me I was hungry, as I went to change clothes and take a shower. The table was set by the time I came back out, and we both sat down to eat.
“Lee visited me today,” said Alexis, and I almost choked on the food I’d just swallowed.
“He did? What did he want?”
“To see how I’m doing,” she answered with no small amount of sarcasm. “I’m sure it was all just a front to check up on you.”
I stared at my plate. “Yeah, well, I don’t need checking up on.”
“Liam’s court date is this week, you know.”
“I’m well aware of that, Lexie.”
“You have to be there, don’t you?”
I glanced at her, wondering what she was getting at. “You know I do.”
She eyed me sympathetically and appeared torn over what to say. Dropping her fork onto the table, she rubbed at her belly.
“Is the baby kicking?”
She nodded her head. “Yeah, but it’s not that. Lee told me something, and I don’t want you walking in there with blinders on. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Tell me, then.”
She inhaled a quick breath. “He’s having Liam’s solicitor broker a deal. If he gives up the name of the person he was working for, they’ll let him go free.”
“But then Lee….” I gasped, unable to finish my sentence.
“Will do time,” said Alexis, her brown eyes turning down at the ends sadly, our conversation falling into silence.
I barely slept that night, and the next day I seemed to have drawn the short straw, because everything that could possibly go wrong did. First off, a woman I arrested for shoplifting went crazy and attacked me at the station, resulting in me sporting an awful welt across one cheek. Secondly, the evidence I’d collected on a drug pusher from several weeks ago went missing, which meant he couldn’t be prosecuted. I was willing to bet it was a last “fuck you” from Steve. And thirdly, just to add icing on the cake of a supremely shitty day, my car broke down.
It was dark, and I was on my way home after my shift. When I called the AA, they said it’d be one to two hours before a tow truck arrived, so I was stuck on the hard shoulder of a busy motorway with no other option but to wait it out.
Only about thirty minutes had passed when there was a steady knock on my driver’s-side window. I thought with relief that the truck had gotten there early, but then glanced up to find Lee peering down at me through the glass.
Okay, so if my car breaking down was the icing on the cake, then Lee showing up was the magic sprinkles. I didn’t open the door, only rolled down my window for him.
“Need help?” he asked. Damn, he looked good, his hair casually tousled. I noticed his eyes drifting over me, checking me out in the same way I was him.
Shaking my head, I answered, “No, thanks, I’m good. The AA will be here soon.”
He didn’t look like he believed me. “How long you been waiting?”
“Thirty minutes,” I muttered, looking down at my phone.
Lee emitted a soft chuckle. “In that case, they’re not getting here any time in the next century. Let me take a look,” he urged me, holding up his hands and wriggling his fingers. “This is what I’m good at.”
“It’s fine. I’m happy to wait. I’m sure you have somewhere you need to be.”
I wanted him to leave, not only because of the feelings his nearness provoked, but also because I was two seconds away from confronting him over his bullshit plan to go to prison instead of Liam.
He levelled me with a challenging stare, not breathing a word, but instead of arguing, he just walked around to the front of the car and proceeded to open the hood.
Oh, no effing way.
Getting out, I stomped toward him, pushing his hands back and slamming it down. Trying to ignore the spark I felt when our fingers touched, I scowled at him with all my might. “I said I don’t need your help. Are you going deaf or something?”
Lee cocked his head, perplexed. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“I’m not being difficult. I’m just irritated by how you always think you know best,” I huffed. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I wasn’t angry at him for being heavy-handed — I was angry at him because he was going to sacrifice himself for his brother, and refusing to let him fix my car was the only way of expressing how I felt right then.
Lee held firm when I tried to stand my ground, and before I could react, he gripped me by the waist, lifted me, and threw me over his shoulder. I wriggled in his hold, but seconds later he’d opened my car door and shoved me in the back. I hadn’t even seen him swipe my keys, but by the time I tried to scramble forward, he’d locked all the doors.
My car was an old Nissan, so I could still open it from the inside. Lee saw me going for the lock and warned me, “If you get out, I’ll kiss you.”
He was such a little fucker.
I huffed a sigh and folded my arms, my annoyance written all over my face at his threat. Lee chuckled as he watched me, but then his expression sobered when he saw the welt on my face. His voice was muted since all the windows were closed, but I could just about hear him as he brought his fingers to his own cheek.
“What happened there?”
“A woman I arrested today did it. Absolute nutjob.”
Lee frowned in concern, placing his hands on his hips before turning away. He returned to the front of the car, and I sat and waited while he fiddled around with the engine. A few minutes later he reappeared, sliding into the back seat next to me.
“Your HT leads need replacing. You should call AA and cancel. I’ll hitch you up to the back of my car and drive you to the garage, replace them for you for free.”
“Is this you paying me back the favour you owe me?” I asked.
Lee eyed me and smiled. “Nah, this is me trying to be more like you, helping the needy and all that.”
I scoffed. “Sure.”
Lifting his hand, he ran his fingers over my hurt cheek. “This looks bad.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“I hope you gave as good as you got.”
“Oh, yeah, I kicked her arse right in the middle of the station while the other officers cheered me on.”
Lee pursed his lips, still smiling. “Don’t be a smart-arse.” Picking my phone up from my lap, he shoved it into my hand and said, “Call them. Otherwise, you’ll be sitting out here all night.”
Giving in, I called and cancelled the tow truck. When I hung up we were both silent, and his plan to switch places with Liam burned heavily on my heart. I was upset and angry at him, but I couldn’t let out everything I was feeling without coming across as hysterical. Still, I had to broach the subject. The court hearing was tomorrow. I needed to convince him to change his mind.