Tipsy (23 page)

For drugs.

I would have laughed at the
ridiculousness of it all if I wasn’t imaging her here somewhere…
scared. What the hell was going on? How the hell had this
happened?

Fuck, if I hadn’t called and told
Watson about her, they might have ignored her request when she
asked for me.

Please don’t let this have
to do with my case.
The whole drive here,
the thought replayed in my head over and over like a bad song on
the radio. The thought of her caught up in any of this—with those
drug-dealing lowlifes—made me want to put my fist through a
wall.

As a cop, I knew what I would find when
I walked into the station. Yet seeing her hunched over the table,
with her hands freaking cuffed behind her back, was something I
could never have been prepared for.

The rage that swept through my body was
like a sudden tsunami, rising up out of the calm ocean and sweeping
everything out of its path. I knew those men thought they were
doing their job, but I wanted to beat them all to a
pulp.

Couldn’t they see what I
saw?

Didn’t they see the innocence behind
her eyes, the honesty in her expression? How is it that anyone
could look at her and think she was guilty of being involved with
drugs that were killing kids?

Fucking idiots. All of them.

Yeah, okay, maybe I was being harsh.
They were doing their job. They were trying to protect people.
Looks could be deceiving… I kind of built my undercover identity on
that, but I couldn’t help how I felt. Even if it was
biased.

Then she uttered the words I
had been praying she wouldn’t say.
I know
where the drugs are, and I know who’s been helping Dom.

I tried to reign in my reaction until I
had all the facts. It was a good exercise in
self-control.

“
Sit down,” I told her after
she dropped her bomb. “You look like you’re about to pass
out.”

“
It’s been a long day,” she
murmured as she sat.

“
You hungry? Want some
coffee or something?”

She shook her head. “Maybe just some
water.”

They haven’t even given her
water?
“How long you been here?” I asked, a
little more harsh than I intended.

She shrugged. “I really don’t
know.”

I yanked open the office door. “I need
some bottled water in here,” I barked.

Watson appeared in the doorway, giving
me a measured look. “You getting comfortable in my
office?”

I had to admit this crappy, depressing
office was a lot better than my tiny house in the ghetto. “No, sir.
Didn’t mean to take over. I just wanted somewhere private to talk
to her.”

Watson nodded and stepped into the
room. “Julie Preston I presume,” he said, stopping before her chair
and looking down.

Julie straightened her shoulders and
lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “Yes, sir,” she said and offered
her hand to give him a solid handshake.

Watson looked impressed.

“
I do apologize for the way
you were treated. The arresting officers are young and
eager.”

“
It’s fine,” she said
coolly.

“
I admit, it doesn’t look
good—the way you were found, I mean.” He continued.

“
I wasn’t aware people were
looking for me. A simple phone call and I would have come in on
request.”

I smothered my smile as Julie held her
own with my boss. One of the secretaries out front appeared with
several bottles of chilled water, and I gave her a wink as I took
them and shut the door to the office.

“
We weren’t looking for you
specifically,” Watson said, glancing at me.

I twisted off the cap to a water and
handed it to Julie. She took a small sip. “Right before you came
in, she said she knew where the drugs were coming from and who was
helping Dom.”

Watson sat forward with an eager look
in his eyes. “Tell us.”

She opened her mouth to explain, but I
stepped in front of her, silencing her words. “She’s getting
immunity for this, right?”

Watson sighed.

“
The charges will be
dropped. Her name will be kept out of the case,” I said.

“
I think we can work that
out.” Watson agreed. “Her name will be in the police files. Her
statement will be in there too of course, but we can keep her out
of the press.”

Satisfied, I yanked a chair with metal
legs over near Julie and sat down beside her. “You can talk now,” I
told her.

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for the
permission.”

I ignored her smartass tone. “You’re
welcome.”

Watson watched us with veiled
amusement. I would likely hear about this later.

“
Can I ask a question
first?” Julie asked, directing her words at Watson.

He nodded.

“
Why were the police at the
salon tonight?”

He cleared his throat. “We had an
anonymous tip.”

“
A tip about
what?”

“
Drugs,” he said
simply.

Annoyance flashed through me. “Why
wasn’t I notified? This is my case.”

“
Because you’re undercover.
You would have been notified after we verified the tip,” Watson
replied.

“
Do you know if it was a man
or woman that called in the tip?”

He glanced down at a stack of papers on
his desk. “A female.”

“
She set me up,” Julie
murmured, sounding shell-shocked.

“
What?” I asked.

Julie was quiet a moment as she worked
through whatever it was in her mind. Then she looked up. “The owner
of the salon, Susan Highland, is probably the one who called in the
tip. She was the only one who knew I was there tonight. She knew I
was alone. She asked me to lock up.”

“
Why would she do that?” I
asked.

“
Because she’s the one who’s
been working with Dom. She’s the one who’s been holding the
drugs.”

“
Explain how you know this,
Miss Prescott.” Watson urged.

“
Several weeks ago, my boss
Susan asked me if I would take on more responsibility at the salon.
She wanted me to start doing the inventory—you know, keeping track
of our hair supplies, our products, things like that.”

Watson and I both nodded so she
continued.

“
She also asked me to take
over the display and things. I thought it was a little strange that
she wouldn’t ask someone more senior, but she said it was because I
had the youthful vibe she wanted to represent the salon.” Julie
sounded disgusted. “Now I know that it was because she just thought
I would be gullible enough to take the blame.”

“
How does any of this
connect with the drugs and this case?” Watson asked
impatiently.

“
I heard her on the phone
recently, after hours, arguing with someone. Saying there wasn’t
enough room for something. It was an awkward conversation, and when
she was done, she seemed flustered and upset. I didn’t really think
much about it until what happened earlier.”

“
What happened?” I
asked.

“
I had to stay late to
finish the inventory so I didn’t have to go in tomorrow. I was the
last one left. I was in the back room, out of sight. Susan was in
her office. Someone came in the salon and I overheard him and Susan
arguing.” She glanced at me sheepishly. “I listened at the
door.”

I nodded.

“
The guy seemed a little
familiar, but I didn’t realize who it was at first. Anyway, he was
demanding to see the ‘supply,’ and I was going to hide, but then I
heard him slap her.” She paused for a moment and took a sip of
water. I couldn’t help but notice how her hand trembled finely. “I
went out into the salon. It was Dom.”

“
You’re sure it was him?”
Watson asked.

“
I’m sure. I met him before.
I think he might have recognized me.”

“
Then what happened?” I
didn’t like where this was going.

“
Dom left. Susan seemed
upset and she asked me to close up. After she left, I got curious…
I knew you were looking for the drugs, and after hearing Susan and
Dom, I suspected they were at the salon.”

“
You went looking for them?”
I groaned. “You should have called me.”

“
I don’t have your number,”
she snapped.

“
So you found them and
that’s when my officers arrived, finding you with a room full of
drugs.”

Julie nodded at Watson, relieved that
he understood. “Yes, exactly. I swear those drugs aren’t mine. I
found them. Really!”

“
We believe you,” I assured
her, slipping my arm around her shoulders.

“
How does a salon owner fall
into business with a drug cartel?” Watson asked in a thoughtful
tone.

Julie perked up. “She mentioned
something to Dom about a guy. She accused Dom of killing him. She
said that Dom was lying to her, keeping her on a string so she
would keep working for him.”

“
Milo.” I swore.

Watson and Julie both turned to
me.

I glanced at Watson. “It’s why Slater
is undercover, the cop from Raleigh. They suspect that Dom killed
one of his men, a guy named Milo. This could be the break they
need,” I murmured.

“
So,” Watson surmised. “You
think Susan Highland got roped into the drug business by her
boyfriend/lover and then Dom killed him?”

Julie nodded enthusiastically. “Yes,
but Dom told her that Milo was out of town so she would keep hiding
the drugs. They were all disguised in boxes of hair color and
developer. No one would have suspected unless they were a
hairstylist.”

I cussed. It was the fucking perfect
set-up.

“
You believe me… right?”
Julie asked, unsure.

“
Yes, sweetness. We believe
you.” I lightly massaged the back of her neck with my
hand.

“
Sweetness?” Watson said,
arching his brow.

Julie laughed. I pretended like I
hadn’t heard.

“
We’ll need to bring in Ms.
Highland for questioning. Hopefully she’ll roll over on
Dom.”

Julie sat up. “She will. Especially
thinking that he killed Milo. She was getting choked up just
talking about him. I actually feel kind of bad for her.”

“
Don’t,” I said, harsh. “She
deserves to be punished. There’s no excuse for what she’s been
doing. People have died.”

Julie paled and I wanted to kick
myself. She already looked awful, with dark circles beneath her
eyes.

“
This is exactly what we
needed,” Watson said, gleeful.

“
What’s going to happen
now?” Julie asked, not nearly as thrilled as my boss.

Adrenaline began to pump through my
system like water through a hose. “Now I’m going to break this case
wide open.”

25

Julie

All the charges against me were
dropped. Well, technically I don’t think they actually charged me
with anything to begin with, but whatever.

Blue thought my plans were
hare-brained. Shows how much he knew. My plan broke the case.
Hopefully now they could do whatever they were going to do and be
done with it.

Blue wouldn’t tell me anything after I
spilled everything I knew. One look at Watson told me I wouldn’t
get any help there either. Basically as soon as they got all the
info they needed, I was ushered out of the room to sign some papers
and stuff while Blue stayed in the office, no doubt hatching some
“official police business” plan.

Men.

O_o ← that’s me rolling my
eyes.

Not too much later, Blue appeared and
motioned for me to join him back in the office while Watson went
off in another direction.

“
Hey,” he said, shutting the
door and pushing me up against it. His body pressed into mine. The
weight felt delicious, and suddenly I didn’t feel quite as
exhausted as before.

“
Hey, yourself.”

He dipped his head, capturing my lips
and pulling them into a tangled-up kiss. I melted against the door
as our lips intertwined deliciously. My fingers found their way
beneath the hem of his shirt, and I scraped my nails across his
lower back, bringing him even closer. The hardness between his legs
was unmistakable as he ground his hips against me.

A small sound of appreciation ripped
from my throat and he yanked his mouth away, breathing heavy.
“Damn,” he said, breathless. “You make me forget this is my boss’
office.”

I lifted a brow. “What if it was your
office?”

He smiled mischievously. “If it was my
office, you’d already be lying across that desk with half your
clothes off.”

“
So is this all I gotta do
to see you more often? Get arrested?”

He growled and scooped me up in his
arms. My head fell back so I could look up at him. “Don’t even
think about making this a habit.”