Colton's Undercover Seduction
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Beth Cornelison
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HarlequinChapter 1
Humphrey Kelly, covered in blood and gasping for breath, glared at her and pointed an accusing finger. “Do something, rookie! You wanted to be a cop, now prove yourself! Find me! Save me!”
Panic filled Eva Colton’s chest. She tried to back away from the accusing finger but couldn’t. She found it hard to draw a breath. “I’m trying!”
Humphrey, the man who’d done so much for her family and was like a second father to the Colton siblings, reached a bony finger toward her and poked her face. Once. Twice. Three times. “Find me!”
Poke, poke.
Eva woke with a shallow gasp, her pulse thumping wildly. Carnegie, her overweight ginger cat, sat on her chest, patting her cheek with a paw. “Mrow.” Poke, poke.
Grunting, she scratched Rocky’s head and closed her eyes with a dramatic sigh. “Bad dream.” Except Humphrey Kelly’s disappearance wasn’t imagined. Her heart ached knowing he was still missing some three-plus months after mysteriously vanishing while at the courthouse downtown.
“Mrow?” Carnegie asked. Yes, asked. Because the rise in pitch and tilt of his head told Eva it was definitely a question. As in, Can I get some breakfast, please?
“Yeah, of course, buddy. I’m coming.” She angled her head to check the time on her bedside clock and groaned. She had fifty-eight minutes to get showered and get from her East Village apartment to the Ninety-Eighth Precinct in Brooklyn to avoid being late. And she would not be late. Not only was that anathema to her type A rule-following leanings, but it would lead to a dressing-down from her partner, hard-ass Mitch Mallard. Not the way she wanted to start a new workweek.
Because she was a rookie, only nine months on the job at the Ninety-Eighth, her partner thought she didn’t know what was what, and he prided himself in lording his twenty years’ experience over her. If he didn’t outrank her, she might challenge the condescending jerk to a contest. She could recite New York statutes and police procedure, chapter and verse. What she lacked in time on the job, she made up for in procedural knowledge...and maybe a bit of osmosis. After all, her oldest brother, Sean, was an experienced cop at the Ninety-Eighth Precinct. Their father had been an accomplished private investigator, as her middle brother, Cormac, was now, often working in concert with the Ninety-Eighth. Her brother Liam? Well, Liam knew more about the ins and outs of law enforcement and criminal activity than most people, despite the fact that he’d spent some time on the wrong side of the law...or maybe because of it.
Rookie or not, Eva knew police work. She just needed more hands-on experience, and she was confident she would race up the ranks—if Mitch wouldn’t ruin things for her. The jerk. She gritted her teeth in frustration, nudged Carnegie aside and tossed back the covers. “So get a move on, Colton. No point giving the blowhard more fuel for his hot air machine.”
She hustled to the kitchenette of her apartment—where she found a sticky note from her roommate, Kara, saying she’d be late that night—filled Carnie’s food bowl and then hurried to the shower. Ten minutes later, she was dressed, her wet auburn hair slicked back into a ponytail, and was speeding down the stairs. The yeasty scent of fresh pizza dough being prepared for the day in the restaurant on the ground floor of her building filled the stairwell. Eva’s stomach growled. She’d not taken time for breakfast and prayed there were bagels or muffins or something at the precinct.
Maria DeLuca, wife of the pizza joint’s owner, was sweeping the sidewalk in front of the restaurant door as Eva jogged outside and headed for the subway.
“Good morning, Eva! Beautiful day, no?”
She smiled at the short older woman, whose back had begun to stoop with age and a lifetime of hard work. “Good morning, Maria. Yes, lovely day. Have a good one. Gotta run!”
“Take time to eat! You’re too skinny!” Mrs. DeLuca called after her, a common refrain from the woman who clearly equated feeding people with a love language.
Eva raised a hand in acknowledgment as she hurried down the block, dodging other morning commuters rushing toward Union Square. She lifted her eyes to find the spot where the sun was just illuminating the towering Manhattan skyline. The sky was a startling April blue, and spring hummed in the air. God, she loved her city. Especially this time of year, when flowers bloomed in the parks and pots outside doorways, and trees budded with tiny leaves in every shade of green.
The subway ride was uneventful this morning, thank God,—and she darted into the squad room with a full two minutes to spare. Ha! She’d even beat the high-and-mighty Mitch this morning.
She’d just dropped into her desk chair and turned on her laptop when her brother Sean strolled by with a mug of coffee in his hand and a worried look creasing his brow. His frown didn’t bode well. “Eva, can I see you in my office?”
“What’s up?”
In answer, he hitched his head toward his tiny Spartan office and walked away. Eva cast a longing glance toward the breakroom, her stomach rumbling, but dutifully followed Sean into his closet of an office. Brother or not, he outranked her, and she would not give anyone in the precinct a reason to question her abilities or loyalty to the job.
“Am I in trouble?” she said in a teasing manner as she stopped in the threshold. She flashed Sean a lopsided grin, but her gut was tense. Since becoming engaged to bodyguard-for-hire Orla Roberts in January, Sean was usually smiling, at least in his eyes. But the happy glow he’d been sporting lately was dimmed today, and Eva frowned. “Is everything all right? Is it Orla? Did something happen?”
Sean jerked his head up from the file he was studying at the mention of Orla’s name. “Huh? What? No, this has nothing to do with Orla.” Ah, there was the twinkle in his eye again...
“Okay. So...?”
Sean cleared his throat. “You’re temporarily getting a new partner.”
She straightened. “I am? Why?”
“Mallard’s wife called this morning. He has a severe case of mono. Can’t talk, throat’s a mess, and because of Mitch’s past heart issues, his doctor has ordered him to stay in bed and rest for at least two weeks. Apparently, a case as bad as what Mitch has can screw up your organs...” Sean shrugged.
Eva’s spirits lifted, and she worked hard to suppress the grin that burgeoned on her lips. Even though Sean was aware of her resentment for Mitch’s borderline bullying, openly reveling in his absence from the precinct and her vacation from his condescension was not good form. She bit the inside of her cheek and nodded.
Sean waved toward a chair, inviting her in, and she stepped farther into her brother’s office and took a seat. “Okay. So who am I working with?”
Just about anyone in the 98th Precinct was better than Mitch. The other officers might kid her the way they teased all the rookies, but at least they recognized her abilities. And kept their distance. Everyone knew she was Sean’s little sister and had no intention of crossing her protective brother. She ran through a quick mental checklist of potential partners. Who worked alone? Whose partner was on vacation?
Henshaw would be easy to work with. Chuck Grayson had recently retired, and Nelson hadn’t been reassigned yet. She could see herself being happier and more productive being paired up with anybody... Well, anyone except—
She squeezed her hands into fists and closed her eyes as she squashed the little quiver that chased through her. She thought of a particular pair of dark brown eyes. Broad, muscled shoulders. A dimple in a stubble-dusted cheek. Her skin flashed hot, and her pulse scampered. Oh, Lord love a duck!
She shoved aside the mental image of her highly inappropriate crush...only to open her eyes and find those same muscled shoulders, sexy dimple and brown eyes staring at her from the doorway.
“You asked to see me, Colton?” said Detective Carmine DiRico.
Eva’s heart slammed against her ribs. No! Oh, no, no, no... Please don’t say—
But Sean did say it. “Carmine, Eva, you’ll be partnering for the next few weeks until Mallard gets back.”
