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“You know Dakota too?” Zane asked. “She’s Ross’ little sister. I’ve had a crush on her since I was a teenager.”
“Did you two ever go out?” Crew asked.
“No,” Zane breathed, “I never asked her out because I didn’t want to break the bro code with Ross. I’d never to that to him. He’s one of my best friends and telling him that I thought that his younger sister was hot probably wouldn’t have gone over well.”
“No, I don’t think that it would have,” Crew agreed. “I wanted to ask her out, but my boss would have had a fit if I had,” Crew said. “Not that he could stop me from dating her anyway. The police force wouldn’t care unless we were partners, and we’re not.”
“I have a question,” Zane whispered into Crew’s ear, “if we both like her and wanted to ask her out, why are we still standing here?”
“Fuck if I know,” Crew said.
“She looks like she’s drowning her sorrow in those shots of whisky,” Zane said.
“Yeah, her partner died tonight. It was all over the precinct. She was shot by a drug dealer and I’m betting Ballerini isn’t taking it very well. They were close,” Crew whispered. He was happy that as a police detective, he didn’t have a partner. He was a homicide investigator and worked better on his own.
“Oh God, that’s awful. I wonder if Ross knows,” Zane said.
Crew shrugged, “Not sure, but I’m betting he does. He came downtown and picked her up from the office after her shift.”
“Yeah, that sounds like something that Ross would do,” Zane said. “Listen, maybe we should leave her alone and try another night?”
“No, if for no other reason than to know she’s okay, I want to talk to her,” Crew said. “She has three empty shot glasses in front of her and I need to know that she’s not driving herself home. It could ruin not only her life but her career.”
“Always the cop,” Zane said, lightly kissing Crew’s lips. “Come on. You take her left side, and I’ll take her right. We’ll feel her out and if she seems willing, then we can take her home, sober her up, and if she agrees, discuss making her our third.”
“What about Ross and your bro code?” Crew asked.
“I’ll figure that out later—if she says yes. Let’s cross one bridge at a time,” Zane insisted. “Ready?” he asked.
“As I’ll ever be,” Crew said. He wasn’t sure if they were making a huge mistake by choosing Dakota Ballerini, but Zane was right—they both liked her and if this crazy plan worked out, they might end up being the happiest two bastards on the planet.
Dakota
Dakota Ballerini walked into the shitty little bar on the corner that she had always steered clear of. Honestly, the only guys who ever hung out in there were either bad boy bikers, who weren’t her type, or cops running some kind of sting that she wanted no part of. As a police officer, she knew better than to even think about going into a place like this, but she didn’t care tonight, because tonight was different. Tonight, she had lost her best friend and partner, Jenna, to a scumbag drug dealer, who thought that taking her out was going to save his own worthless life. He was wrong—it didn’t save him. In fact, as soon as Dakota saw that her partner was down, she shot the asshole between the eyes, leaving no room for error. She wanted to make sure that he was good and dead before she had to say goodbye to her friend. She owed Jenna at least that much for always having her back.
Jenna’s mother had insisted on having the memorial service immediately and declined the police department’s offer of a big funeral with all the honors Jenna deserved. Her mom wanted a quiet, family and close friends-only service, and Dakota was happy to attend. Sure, she wished her brothers and sisters on theforce could be able to tell Jenna goodbye, but it was her mother’s wishes that mattered most to everyone on the force. She was a very private woman and the last thing she wanted was a bunch of men and women in uniforms showing up and turning Jenna’s final farewell into something akin to a media circus. Because, once the media got hold of the information about Jenna’s funeral, they would be sure to show up. Her mother didn’t want any of that, and Dakota was happy that she got what she wanted to say goodbye to her daughter.
Two guys walked over to where she sat alone at the bar and sat on either side of her. “I’m not looking for company guys,” she mumbled. She was on her third shot of whisky and planned on drinking quite a few more before calling an Uber to head back to her townhome and pass out.
“How about you let us buy you a drink then, Dakota?” the guy to her left asked. Dakota was thankful that her back was turned to the guy, so he couldn’t see her roll her eyes at his question.
“Do we know each other?” she asked, turning to get a good look at the cute blond. “Zane,” she breathed. Zane was one of her brother’s best friends. She had grown up knowing him, and having him treat her as Ross’s pesky little sister when all she wanted was for him to notice her.
“Yep, it’s good to see you, kid,” he said. She rolled her eyes at him for using the nickname that he always called her.
“I’m not a kid anymore,” she insisted. “I drink alcohol now and everything.” She held up her fourth shot and gave him a little mock salute.
“How many of those have you had?” Zane asked.
“That’s none of your business,” she insisted.
“You’re not going to be driving home in your state, Ballerini, right?” the guy on the other side of her asked.
“Jesus does everyone know who I am in here tonight?” she grumbled.
“We worked together a few times,” the guy said, “I’m Crew Montgomery.”
“Shit,” she said, “you’re Detective Montgomery, aren’t you?” she asked.
