Page 3 of Dirty Cops Next Door

2

Toni

I was still smilingas I walked into the police station, heading to a desk that looked like it might be a reception desk. The station looked as though it had been in the same building since the town was founded in 1785. Three stories, narrow, with a brick façade, the inside had been updated, but the outside still had that old charm of bygone days.

“I’m looking for the chief, please. I’m Toni Wallace, I’m with the paper.” I proudly handed over the journalist badge Barbara had provided me with earlier and waited for the woman across from me to respond.

Dressed in a blue uniform, the small woman, no more than a few inches over five-foot-tall, smiled at me and asked me to wait for a moment.

She was an African American woman, with skin that wasn’t too dark or too light, her hair done up in a tight bun at the back of her head, with pretty features that suited her innocent demeanor. She looked too timid to be a cop and I had to guess that was why she was behind the desk.

“The chief is a little busy right now. Would you be able to come back after lunch?” The woman’s eyes had gone round as she spoke, setting the phone down as if it would come to life and bite her.

“Chief isn’t happy, huh?” I put on my best reporter/buddy voice and leaned on the wall beside the desk. I really didn’t want to spend all day walking all over town. “Why don’t I…”

The breath was knocked out of me as a massive wall of a man barreled into me from behind.

“Sorry, miss. Oh, aren’t you my neighbor?” The beautiful man with light brown hair falling into his eyes and the grin of a Cheshire cat stared down at me from well above me. About eight inches above me, to be precise.

“Uh, yeah. Hi, sorry.” I started to tuck my hair behind my ears, my heart fluttering as I saw his smile.

“Hey, why are you here? Is something wrong? You could have come to us if something was wrong.” His eyebrows knitted as he moved closer, the smell of his aftershave making my nostrils flare in eager happiness.

I glanced over as someone else came over. David Marshall, the grinning man’s work partner, and felt my heart flutter again. Tall, bald, and oh so damned sexy: the man was every schoolgirl’s fantasy of a bad boy. Especially with that tight black shirt and the black pants worn with tactical boots. He was dressed the same way as Grant Reed who’d barreled into me, and that somehow made the whole scene even hotter.

“Uh, sorry, no. I’m here to meet with the chief for an interview. I started at the paper today.” I sputtered my way through a terrible explanation, but Grant, the tall one with the hair, gave me a reassuring grin and patted my shoulder.

“Oh, his bark is worse than his bite, sweetie. Don’t let him frighten you.” He gave me a rather saucy wink with light gray eyes, and David shifted beside him.

“Did I ever thank you two for helping Eric and me move in?” It was the only thing I could think of, that first moment when they’d come home to find us struggling to get our furniture into the house.

Both men had stepped up, moved the furniture in, and left without a demand for a dime or anything. Grant had chatted the whole time, pulling information out of me easily, but David had just watched, his beautiful red lips closed over perfectly straight teeth. I had seen their white flash once when he took a drink of the water I offered him. Both were beautiful and had been in my dreams since I’d met them.

“Yeah, you did. It wasn’t a problem, and anytime you need a hand, sweet-cheeks, you just come knocking on our door, alright?” Grant chucked me under the chin and I felt my heart fluttering again as I closed my throat on a gleeful scream.

Generally, I was a level-headed person, practical, logical, and capable, but these two turned me into a mess. They were the hottest men I had ever seen and I knew I wasn’t in their league. My dreams were consumed with having them in my bed.

At the same time!

I felt my cheeks flame as I glanced over at David once more, his blue eyes unreadable, impenetrable, and wanted to disappear into the floor. Why did I turn into such a dork around these two?

“I’ll let you know.” Inside my head I was screaming at myself to say something saucy, something wicked to get his attention, but I just wasn’t that kind of a girl! I couldn’t think of anything beyond, yeah and okay.

“Great, take care of yourself, Toni. A girl as pretty as you must be turning heads.” He gave me another wink and all I could do was give a giddy wave and a breathless goodbye.

I slumped against the wall once more, careful to keep an ear out for anyone else now that I realized it didn’t extend to the other wall, but was more a divider. I watched them go, a sigh passing my lips.

“Don’t feel bad, girl, those two are every straight girl’s fantasy!” I heard from the desk below me.

I looked down at the woman in shock, her meek manner now hidden away as she stared after Grant and David with a keen eye of appreciation for the two lovely specimens.

“You aren’t even kidding!” I answered her breathlessly and turned back to face her. “They’re my neighbors. I have to live with that right next door.”

I spoke with the woman conspiratorially, woman to woman. She grinned at me, and her gentle brown eyes shot down to her desk once more, that meek persona back in place. Maybe she was good cop material after all.

“I think I’d die if I lived next to those two. I’d have to tie myself to my bed every night to keep from walking over to their house in my sleep! Yep, it’s best I don’t live next to them.” She let her country accent come out a little more as she relaxed around me, and I smiled at her again.

“I’ve thought about it some nights, believe me! Oh well, I’m not their type, and I’m guessing you aren’t either? Shall we make a pact to ogle them from afar without sneering at each other for it?” I watched her as she laughed, and thought how pretty she was, even in her boxy uniform.