Undercover (4 page)

Derrick captured her hand, stopping its movement, stopping the torture. He carried her fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I should go.” He pulled away, his voice cracking as he stood. “It’s getting late and you have school tomorrow.”

Her beauty was like a wicked trap, tangling him up inside. As he walked away, forcing himself not to look back, he knew he better try a hell of a lot harder to keep his distance.

****

Wow!
Erica brought her knuckles to her lips and held them there as she watched him walk away. Never in her life had she felt this way about a man. He was wonderfully handsome, sweet and sexy.

And he was
so
struggling with his attraction to her. She smiled, a bit more satisfied than she should be. Grabbing up her duffle bag, she headed home, a block away.

Funny how, when she wasn’t so aware of Derrick, she felt the dampness of her t-shirt and the fabric clinging to her back. What she wouldn’t give for a breeze to brush down through the buildings, but she’d lived here long enough to know that wasn’t going to happen.

A cold shower would help cool down the outside surface of her skin and douse the inferno building on the inside - thanks to Derrick. She couldn’t shake the desire she felt when she was near him. There had been intense lust from day one but it had evolved beyond that. She liked the guy, a lot. And she had no business feeling this way. It was risky, stupid even, under the circumstances.

She entered her apartment, a small, low-income hole in the wall where she could lay her head at night without worry. Situated above the local hardware store, it and she went unnoticed most days. Lost in thought about Derrick, she closed and locked the door.

“Where in the hell have you been, Cordero?”

Erica spun around, ready to defend herself and then clutched at her chest when recognition reached her brain. “Jeez, Steve. You scared the shit out of me.” She leaned back against the door and briefly closed her eyes.

“I hope you were out making headway on this case.” Steve Rockwell, her supervisor, sat at her kitchen table, overwhelmed it really by his shear size.

His tie lay in a heap on her table and the first few buttons of his shirt were undone. Erica smiled, couldn’t help herself, knowing how much Steve hated to wear a suit.

“Lookin’ good, sir.” She pushed away from the door and headed to the fridge.

“Don’t start with me. You’ve been on assignment for four weeks now and haven’t reported in once, which tells me you’ve got nothing.”

Such the wounded bear, she thought. “Wanta beer?” The cool air that greeted her when she opened the refrigerator door reminded her how bad she wanted a shower.

“Sure.” He snatched the offering out of her hands.

“
Only
four weeks. And I’m close. I had drugs shoved in my face the second day of class, but from runners. I want the seller and, if at all possible, his supplier.” She leaned a hip against the counter and took a long pull on the cold drink.

“Nobody suspects?”

“No.” She thought of Derrick and Joey, and felt a wave of guilt bubble up. They would be shocked, maybe hate her, if they ever found out she was a twenty-nine year old undercover officer. Chances were, they would never know. Once she had hard evidence, she would leave the school. The police would raid the grounds and arrest the suspects. No one would ever connect her disappearance to the arrests and she would likely never see Joey or Derrick again.

She rubbed at the burn in the center of her chest.

“I’ve got two main suspects. James Hufferman, whose brother, Henarez, is the leader of the Mercenaries. Henarez has a record, which includes possession of drugs, so it makes sense that Huff could be funneling them into the school, but I don’t have evidence yet. I’m hanging out with Joey Moreno and he happens to be a long time friend of Huff’s.”

“One of his runners?”

“It’s possible, but I’m not sure.” She wanted to believe he wasn’t, but the facts indicated the opposite. “They grew up together.”

“What about your other suspect?”

“Ricky Sanchez.” She shrugged her shoulders and took a seat at the table. “He’s a member of the Hell Boys. I don’t know if he’s dealing on his own or for the good of the group. I’d guess the latter. I’ve got the name of a few of his boys, but I’m not as familiar with them.”

“Get familiar.” Steve finished off the last of his beer, stood and grabbed his tie from the table. “You begged for this assignment to prove you could do more than sit behind a desk. Don’t make me regret the decision.”

“No, Sir,” she said quietly as he walked out.

Erica grabbed another beer from the fridge, assuring herself that Steve would not regret this. She had too much to prove, to herself and to her family.

An image of Derrick popped into her head causing her belly to quiver. And then there was Joey. Such a good kid and she wanted to believe with all her heart that he had nothing to do with the drugs. She was getting too close to the players, getting attached and letting her feelings blur the lines.

Erica knew what she had to do. It was time to push the envelope, shake things up and see where the pieces fell. She would have to back away from Derrick and Joey on a personal level, but she had a job to do. If Joey helped run drugs into the school, she would not protect him. She couldn't. Drugs and those who dealt in the business of selling destroyed families, including hers.

Steve was right. She’d begged for this opportunity and she be damned if she would screw it up. This was her chance to right a wrong, to make the senseless death of her little sister have meaning.

****

On Monday, Erica headed to the back parking lot where she knew a bunch of the kids went to smoke cigarettes at lunchtime. The one place Ricky Sanchez was sure to hang out. Talk was that more than cigarettes were available, but she didn't see or get offered anything. The teachers knew about the spot, but for the most part overlooked the hang out as long as everyone stayed out of trouble.

Erica didn’t smoke, but figured she could fake it well enough if doing so got her a little closer to the end goal.

There were small groups of friends clustered together. A few couples separated off from their groups to have a hot and heavy make out session. And then there were a number of kids like her, loners, who stood against the wall enjoying a smoke, keeping to themselves and along with a watchful eye on things so they could split at the first sign of trouble.

LeAnn had detected Erica’s arrival the minute she came around the end of the building. LeAnn played up the scene, being loud and flirtatious with Ricky, who didn’t seem to mind the public display from his girlfriend. At one point LeAnn got up in his face and said something, causing the others around them to laugh. Ricky pulled her against him. He reached down, grabbed her ass, and began to grind against her. More laughter erupted but LeAnn didn’t seem to enjoy having the tables turned. She pushed at his chest until he let go and then she and her girlfriends vacated the area.

Wanting to make sure Ricky saw her, Erica waited. The acrid smell of smoke burned her nose as she leaned against the rough brick wall and let the cigarette burn down. Ricky and his boys would have to walk right past her to head back into the school. As the lunch hour wound down the area began to clear out, but Ricky and his crew continued to linger.

She was on the verge of giving up when they finally started her way. She lifted her foot to place the bottom of her platform heel against the wall, allowing her plaid, pleaded mini to hike further up her thigh. Taking a final drag, she dropped the butt of her cigarette and looked up as the boys neared. She avoided making eye contact with anyone but Ricky. She kept her eyes steady and didn’t waste her time trying to fake a smile.

His step faltered when he realized she was looking at him. His boys probably missed the flash of hesitation, his cockiness allowing for a quick recovery. With an appraising look as he strolled past, she got the clear message that if he were interested, he would let her know.

Shit
. Now she would have to wait for him to make the first move. And for them to get inside the school before she could follow. The bell shrilled, ending the lunch period, just as Erica hit the entrance.

She was late for class, one Joey would be in, and she'd stood him up for lunch. Gritting her teeth, she sauntered into class as if she didn’t have a care in the world and took the one empty seat left at the front of the room. The teacher stared her down and didn't resume the lesson until Erica had taken a seat, making sure everyone's full attention was on her.

Erica didn’t dare look around to see where Joey was or make eye contract with anyone. After class, the teacher stopped her and gave her a warning.

Joey waited in the hall. "What happened to you? I thought we were meeting in the cafeteria." He fell in line beside her.

"Yeah, sorry about that." She continued to walk. "I... ah... I had to meet with the guidance counselor."

"Oh." He was silent for a moment, but then took hold of her arm to stop her, forcing her turn to face him. "What's going on? Everything okay?"

Erica let out a long breath and smiled with a shake of her head. She shifted her books to the other arm. "College stuff. I need to decide what the hell I'm going to do. I forgot about the appointment. I'm sorry."

He pondered her words. "You owe me." A smile flashed across his boyish face. "Come over after school, help me with my math and I'll show you how to beat the heat."

"What?" She laughed as he started backing away.

"Just bring your bathing suit," he called out and gave a quick wave before hurrying down the hall.

****

During the summer, Joey mowed the lawn for a couple on the east side of town who had a swimming pool and who currently were out of town. So, after they got through two chapters of Algebra, they left Derrick a note letting him know they were at the Coopers enjoying what might be one of the last warm days of summer.

When Erica pulled the car up to Joey's house two hours later, the lights were out.

"Derrick's still not home," she said, disappointed she wouldn't get to see him and experiencing an odd sense of worry over the amount of hours he worked.

"Do you want to come in?" Joey turned toward her.

"No. I better get going." Feeling waterlogged and exhausted, she couldn't wait for a hot shower and bed.

Joey scooted across the sun-cracked vinyl seat and leaned in to kiss her.

Erica put her hand against his chest to stop him. "Whoa, hey, what are you doing?"

"Kissing you good-night." His very serious face inches from hers.

 She cleared her throat. "Um... we're friends, Joey. Just friends."

Joey yanked back. She could see the deep reddening of his cheeks in the fading evening light.

"Sorry," he said, searching her face for a moment. Then he got out of the car without a word and went inside the house.

Damn it.
She hated to hurt him, but she couldn't lead him on, couldn't let him think they were anything other than friends. Knowing she’d done the right thing didn’t ease the guilt.

Erica put the car in gear and the heap of junk began to rattle and sputter. Pushing hard on the gas peddle kept it from stalling. Three blocks away, however, when she came to a stop sign, the engine shuttered and died. She pumped the gas and turned the key sending a loud screeching sound into the night. Erica got out and lifted the hood. She stared at the guts of the car and sighed.

"Need some help there or do you have it handled?"

Erica's heart thudded against her chest at the sexy mix of humor and exhaustion she heard in Derrick's voice. Her breath caught when she turned to watch his approach. His rugged handsome face and long powerful stride sent desire coursing through her body, heating her skin and the region between her thighs. The man was like a drug and she was quickly becoming addicted.

"Handled? Hardly. I don't have a clue what I'm looking for." When it had to do with cars anyway, she thought. She wasn't so sure the same was true when it came to men, because she was pretty sure she was looking at the greatest guy she would ever meet. Unfortunately, she couldn't have him, not under the circumstances.

He stepped up next to her, turning on the flashlight he'd grabbed before getting out of his truck. "What happened?"

She described the actions and sounds of the car while his hands ran over the different parts of the engine. His strong forearms flexed as he checked fluid levels and wires. And Erica imagined his hands exploring parts of her body, setting her fluid levels to a hot boil and her wires sparking with each touch.

"Go ahead and get back in. I'll tell you when to turn the key."

Erica did as instructed and after several attempts, the car fired up. With it still running, Erica stepped out while Derrick dropped the hood back in place. He shut the flashlight off and wiped his hands on his already stained jeans. Who would have thought she'd find a grease monkey so damn sexy, but she knew his appeal had more to do with his work ethic and the reasons why he worked so hard - his brother.