Deadlocked (The Harry Russo Diaries Book 3) (11 page)

“It could work,” Nash
replied. “It’s better than sitting on our thumbs hoping for a break.”

Salvador nodded again. “I’ll
make some calls and see that it’s done.”

“We can coordinate things
through the SRU. They can set up watch schedules and areas. We could have
things up and running for tomorrow night.” He looked at his watch. “Make that
later today.”

Salvador clapped his hands,
his mood visibly lightened. “Wonderful. Well done, Harry.”

I shrugged, bothered by the
fact that Salvador’s praise seemed to mean something to me.

Nash jumped to his feet and
grabbed my hand, pulling me up to stand beside him. “If you will excuse us
Salvador, it’s been a long night.” He slipped his arm around my waist, guiding
me towards the exit.

“Yes, yes. Certainly.”
Salvador smiled at me indulgently. “Goodnight, my dear Harry. As always, it
was a pleasure to see you.” He nodded at Nash. “Detective, I trust you will
see Harry home safely.”

Nash grunted something in the
affirmative and ushered me towards the hallway. I was suddenly feeling very
tired as the events of the evening combined with the three shots of tequila
began to catch up with me. We stepped into the elevator foyer and I was surprised
to see my coat and Nash’s riding leathers waiting for us. Must be nice to have
such efficient servants.

Nash helped me into my coat
and pulled on his leather jacket without saying a word. As the elevator doors
dinged closed behind us, he leaned over and whispered, “I haven’t forgotten
about you, minx.” I don’t know whether it was the elevator starting its sudden
descent or the heat in Nash’s words, but my stomach did a little flip.

You’d think I would have learned my
lesson the last time. Namely, that it was not a good idea to get on the back of
a motorcycle with Nash when he was angry. The man was a complete maniac. It’s
an experience I wouldn’t wish on my enemies, or at least my ‘frenemies’. Tonight,
it felt like it was the equivalent to mainlining straight caffeine. By the
time we reached the firehouse, I was wired, my earlier lethargy blown away by
the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

The apartment was quiet. Tess
had an early morning class so I wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t waited up. I
had just draped my trench coat over the back of a chair and was hanging up my
katana when Nash stomped in. He stopped, his eyes slowly travelling down my
body and then up again. When his gaze met mine, it was full of hunger. He
licked his lips. In two strides, he closed the distance between us, backing me
up against the wall. His hand twined roughly through my hair pulling my head
back as he crushed himself against me, his lips on mine. There was nothing
gentle about this kiss. It was more a claiming than anything else, his way of
making me remember I was his. He was in control of my mouth and he was taking
no prisoners. He trailed his finger down my bare skin, following the deep
plunge of my neckline and I groaned. When he finally pulled away, I was
breathless, my mouth swollen and used.

“Are you completely nuts?”
Nash took a step back, putting some space between us. “How could you put
yourself in danger like that?”

“I wasn’t in any real danger.”
I muttered, my mind still recovering from the kiss.

“Two vampires tried to kill
you. You killed one of them!” Nash raked a hand through his hair.

“Well, see? I had it all
under control.” I gave him a coy smile.

Nash scowled and wagged his
finger at me. “No, don’t get flippant with me about it. You should have told
me what was going on.”

“Why? So we could have
argued about it first?” I blew out a frustrated breath. “Are you planning on
telling me beforehand every time you have to do something dangerous?”

“Of course not. I’m a cop.
My job is dangerous almost every day.”

“Right. Exactly. I just
have to trust that you will do the right thing and be careful. So why don’t I
get that same trust from you?” Nash gaped at me, his mouth opening and
closing. I threw my hands up and turned to head down the hall to the stairs.
“I don’t have the energy to have this conversation with you right now. I’m
going to take a shower.”

***

The water was the perfect temperature, just on the right side of scalding.
I washed my hair and scrubbed my body clean of any blood splatter, imaginary or otherwise,
and then stood under the spray, letting it wash the events of the night away.
Suddenly I felt a waft of cool air and I found myself pressed face first against the shower wall by
Nash’s hard body. He captured my hands, pulling them up above my head, pressing me against the
cold tiles, his warm breath on my neck.

“You drive me crazy,” he growled. He nipped my ear lobe and I yelped in surprise. He flattened
my hands against the tiles. “Leave them there,” he commanded, sliding his own hands down my
arms to my shoulders. He pushed my wet hair off my neck, his mouth latching onto the mate mark.
I groaned as he suctioned his mouth against the sensitive skin, my knees going out from under me.
With a laugh, he wrapped an arm around my waist, spinning me to face him. His mouth captured mine in
another crushing kiss, his tongue thrusting into my mouth. He fisted his hand in my hair as he
pulled his mouth from mine and tipped my head back to look me in the eye. “I hate that you put
yourself in danger like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.” There was a look of pain in his eyes
and I felt guilty for worrying him.

“I’m sorry.” I reached up and put my hand on his cheek. “I didn’t know you’d be there and it came
together so fast I didn’t have time to let you know what was going on.” Nash looked at me with narrowed
eyes and the corner of his mouth twitched. He slowly raised one eyebrow, waiting. “Alright, alright.
I didn’t think to tell you what was going on.” He snorted and I went on the defensive. “This,” I pointed
to him and then back to me, “this is new for me, you know.” I frowned, trying to find the right words.
“I’m not used to having someone in my life.”

Nash finally nodded, satisfied with my response, and then leaned down to kiss me gently. I twined my hand
through his hair, pulling him closer, and deepened the kiss. Growling, he backed me up against the shower wall again.
I put a hand on his chest, running my fingers through his curly hair, following it south. He was hard and ready
as I reached down to wrap my hand around him. Nash groaned again, reaching out to grab my hand, preventing me
from exploring further as he captured my lips with his, devouring them.

Finally, I pulled my mouth from his. “I have to get out of the water. I’m turning into a prune.” I gave him an impish
grin and stepped out of the shower. He wasn’t the only one that could leave a body all hot and bothered.
I grabbed my towel, quickly dried off and applied some body lotion, and then padded barefoot and naked to the
bedroom to curl up in my bed to wait.

I didn’t have to wait long. I had barely closed my eyes when a hand wrapped around my ankle pulling me over
onto my back. Nash knelt between my legs, still soaking wet. He bent over me, water dripping from his hair
onto my bare skin. “Hey!” I gave him a little scowl. “That’s cold.”

Ignoring me, Nash took a deep breath, his face hovering over my bare abdomen. “I love how you smell. You smell like mine.”
His voice was low and rough. He took another deep breath, placing his hands on my thighs, spreading them apart.
“You smell delicious,” he whispered as he buried his face between my legs and I gasped in surprise. My legs
quivered, suddenly feeling like they were made out of jelly. Nash laughed and teased me with his tongue.
With every nip and lick, my hips would twitch, trying to rise up off the bed, but he put a hand on my belly,
holding me still while his mouth continued its exploration. I moaned, my breath coming in quick, shallow breaths
as I neared my climax.

“Cian!” I cried out, calling his name over and over. His lips grazed against my inner thighs, raining little
kisses down on the flushed skin. The bed dipped and I heard a rustling sound. I lifted my head to see Nash rolling
on a condom. “Oh, thank god,” I moaned. “I need you inside me right now.”

Nash laughed. “Bossy minx.” He scooped a hand under my back, flipping me onto my stomach and then grabbed my hips,
pulling me to my knees. I felt him press against me and then with one thrust, he slammed himself deep inside of me.

“Yes! Oh god, yes.”

Nash pumped slowly, in and out, his fingers digging into my hips. I groaned, reveling in the feel of him, stretching me,
filling me. His rhythm increased and I moaned, feeling my orgasm reaching the precipice once again.

Slap! Nash’s hand came down on my ass, hard enough to leave a red handprint.

“Ow! Hey! What the hell?” I turned to look over my shoulder at him. He put a hand flat against my back holding me down.

“That’s for not telling me about your plan,” he growled.

Slap! The other cheek flamed red beneath his hand.

“And that’s for scaring the shit out me.”

Slap!

“And that’s so you damn well remember I’m part of the team next time.”

“Ow! Alright, alright! I’ll remember! I’ll remember.” I blew out a long breath. “I said I was sorry.”

Nash rubbed my tender bottom. I could feel the heat rising from my bare skin. “I know, minx. I’m new to this relationship
thing too, you know. We’ll just have to work it out together.”

“Works for me. Now just fuck me, Cian. I need you. I need this.”

Nash gave my ass a little pat and my body responded. He laughed and pulled himself almost out before
slamming back in again. His groin brushed against my tender ass and I hissed at the pleasurable pain.
Nash leaned over me, his chest rubbing against my back. He wrapped an arm around me and grabbed a handful of breast,
his fingers pinching my nipple.

He pounded into me until his thrusts became more erratic. Just when I thought I was about to go over,
his mouth latched onto the back of my neck, his tongue laving against the mate mark. My body went supernova
and I screamed out my release. A second later, Nash shuddered with his own.

I fell forward onto the bed. “Fuck me,” I moaned.

“I just did, minx. Give me a second, will you? I need a break.”

I giggled and Nash disappeared for a minute into the bathroom then came back, snuggling in beside me.

My eyes drooped shut. I was exhausted. “So much for the three date rule,” I mumbled. Nash snorted and pulled me
closer, spooning up to me.

“Go to sleep, little minx,” he said. And I did.

I awoke hours later, alone in
bed. I rolled over, feeling the vacant spot with my hand. The sheets were
cool to the touch. Nash must have been gone for a while. I was so dead to the
world, I didn’t even notice him leave. I looked around the room and saw that daylight
was filtering in through the curtains. Swinging my legs out of bed, I sat up,
still yawning and wiping the sleep out of my eyes. I was in mid-stretch, arms
above my head, when I discovered the note on the bedside table.

“
Harry
,” it read, “
I
had to go in early. Another murder last night. All hell’s going to break
loose. I don’t know when I’ll have time but I’ll call when I can. Cian
.”

Ahhh, it made me feel all
warm and tingly. Of course then I had to go and ruin it by flipping the damn
page over and reading the ‘p.s.’

“
Try to stay out of
trouble while I’m gone
. C.”

The bossy bastard. How was
it possible to be so turned on by the alpha male routine yet ticked off by it
at the same time? I shook my head. I doubted that I’d ever figure that one
out.

***

“I love it!” I ran my hand
across the smooth, chocolate brown leather. “It’s perfect, don’t you think?”
I looked at Tiffy who nodded her head vigorously in agreement. I had spent my
day down in the coffee shop, accepting deliveries and stocking things away.
The biggest delivery of the day had been the shop’s new ‘conversation corner’
made up of the low L-shaped sectional I was currently petting and a series of
leather cubes that could be moved around and reconfigured however customers
needed. At the centre of the seating area, there was a low coffee table made
from reclaimed barn board, a gift from Morris and the boys. “The coffee table
is fantastic. It really suits the space.” At my words, Morris dipped his head
down bashfully.

I surveyed the room. It had
really come together. The windows sported newly applied gold decals featuring
a large stylized coffee cup with steam rising up. They were subtle but worked
as a way to dress up the windows and let customers walking past know what was
inside without obstructing the view or the natural light coming in.

The shop was your typical
storefront for the area – a single entrance right in the middle of the street
facing wall, framed on either side by two large windows. We had salvaged two
four tops (restaurant speak for tables for four) from all the detritus that had
been left behind over the years. Tiffy had cleaned them up and refinished them
in no time and they fit perfectly in front of one of the windows. Now when people
walked into the shop they could either sit in the conversation area to the
right or get a table to the left. The booths were straight ahead and on the
left hand wall, the one shared with the flower shop. The counter with its retro
stools and the coffee service area were along the outside, right hand wall.
Towards the back, we had put in a prep area for making sandwiches to order. It
was delineated from the public space by another display case for bakery items
and a service counter. Morris had also built a rack for us to display bread.
There was a small window opening into the kitchen to load dirty dishes to the
back room. A central hall ran to the back of the shop leading to the kitchen
on the left and to the right there was the public restroom and the storeroom.

I waved to Morris and the
boys, ushering them towards the sandwich area. “Well, step right up, boys.
What would you like? I have ham, turkey or pastrami.” They were wrapping up
the last of the work in the courtyard and I had offered to make them lunch. It
was the least I could do for all their hard work. Besides, Hilde and Isaac had
obviously been baking up a storm and I had more baked goods than I knew what to
do with. I had already started selling some things off to curious neighbours
who poked their heads in during the day.

Hilde hadn’t exaggerated.
She was an excellent baker. The bread was fantastic. She had made three
different kinds: a dark brown, rich with molasses; a multi-grain full of flax
and sunflower seeds, and basic whole wheat. There were four loaves of each,
and that wasn’t all. There were also huge, crusty brown rolls, croissants and
pain
au chocolat
, which after my first bite made me feel like I had died and
gone to heaven. Isaac had obviously been busy too, whipping up his famous
butter tarts and two different types of brownies.

I had just sorted the boys
all out with their lunches when the bell above the door rang. I looked up as
three men, obviously dressed for construction, walked in.

“Hi. Are you open?” One of
them stepped forward, swiping his hair out of his eyes.

I looked around at Morris and
the boys chowing down. I couldn’t really say no. Good thing Isaac and I had
already taken a stab at pricing. “Sure, but cash only and we are down to ham
or pastrami.”

“Sounds good. Do you got any
coffee to go with that?”

I smiled. “Oh, yeah. Coffee we
can definitely do.”

***

In the end they not only had two
cappuccinos, poured expertly by Tiffy, and an Americano, but each had both a
butter tart and a brownie to go with their sandwiches. It turns out the
building across the street was being renovated into condos; another sign that
the neighbourhood was being revitalized. I couldn’t believe my luck. A whole
building full of potential customers would soon be moving in. The men didn’t
know much about the building’s owner but the apartments were all being upgraded
with high-end security systems and top of the line fittings. All the windows
in the building were being replaced with the low UV windows similar to what we
had put in when we had redone the firehall. It sounded like the owner was
sinking a chunk of change into the place. All the better for the neighbourhood
I guess.

I looked around the shop. It
was busy and half of them were even paying customers. I guess we were having
what they call a ‘soft opening’. The thought gave me an idea. I texted Nash
and told him to put the word out to the teams on patrol that the shop would be
open late for anyone who needed a coffee or snack.

I had two interviews that
afternoon, one of the girls, a werewolf named Barbie - seriously, that was her
name - really seemed to stand out. She had experience, a bubbly personality
and she didn’t seem to harbour any vampire prejudices. I thought that was
important since besides the fact that we had two vampires working in the shop,
we would probably also start to have vampire clientele.

“So, would you like to start
tonight?” I was joking, but her face lit up.

“Sure! I’d love to.” Barbie
nodded her head.

“Okay then. Why don’t you
come back at six and you can pull a four-hour shift? We’ll get you trained up
on the Deco and go over the menu and pricing. We haven’t officially opened,
but I expect it might be kind of busy tonight.”

“I heard about the stepped up
patrols. My brother Martin is with the SRU.” Barbie leaned in, talking
quietly. “He was there the night you raised the wolves.”

“Oh, right. Okay then.” I
was uncomfortable thinking about that night.

“I think you did a tremendous
thing, getting justice for all those poor souls.” Barbie beamed at me. I
studied her for a moment. She seemed to genuinely feel that way and wasn’t merely
sucking up to her new boss.

“Thanks.” I cleared my
throat. “So listen, we don’t have any sort of uniform yet. We’re getting some
shirts made once we figure out a logo. In the meantime, jeans or khakis and a plain
dark shirt would be fine.”

“No problem, Miss Russo. I
have a couple of shirts that would do.”

“Great. And you can just
call me Harry.”

“Sure thing, Harry.” She
smiled at me again. “I’ll see you at six.”

***

Isaac and Hilde made their
appearance just as the sun was setting, which at this time of year was around
five-thirty. After raving to Hilde about the bread and the buns and the
pain au
chocolat
, most of which we had sold out of by this point, I had impressed
Isaac with the receipts from our first real sales. I brought him up to speed with
the day’s events, at least those concerning the shop, and Isaac in turn offered
to give Barbie a tutorial on the coffee machine when she arrived, leaving
me to take my first break of the day to go upstairs.

I nipped out the back, the
shortest route to the entrance to my apartment, and nearly collided with Nash
as he jogged down the stairs.

“Nash!” I yelped as I found myself
scooped into his arms and pulled in hard against his chest.

“Hey minx. I was just
looking for you.” He flashed me a smile.

“You found me.” I stood on
my toes and gave him a quick peck on the lips. Nash was having none of that
and he put his hands on either side of my head as I tried to pull away, holding
my lips against his. I parted my lips in surprise and his tongue snaked in.
Mmmmm, the man could kiss.

I pulled away a few minutes
later, my lips feeling well used and my face a little raw from Nash’s five
o’clock shadow. “I was just going to get something to eat. Do you want to
join me?”

“I can’t, minx. I have a
damn meeting with the mayor in half an hour or so. I figured this might be my
only chance to stop by though and I wanted to see you.”

“Mmmmm, lucky me.” I smiled
and wrapped my hand around the back of his head, pulling him down for another
kiss. Nash slid his arms around me and I could feel that he was more than just
happy to see me. He grabbed a handful of my ass, reminding me that it was
still a little tender from the night before and a tiny moan escaped my lips.
Nash growled and then pulled away. “You really are a little minx, you know
that right?”

I smiled wickedly at him.
“Guess that’s why I have you to keep me out of trouble.” I wiggled my eyebrows
at him, running my hand across the bulge in his jeans.

Nash grabbed my wrist and
held my hand firm against his erection. “Seems like you’re just asking for
trouble.”

I gave him a fake pout. “No
time for trouble right now.” I looked at my non-existent watch. “Tick tock,
the mayor’s waiting.” I turned to head up the stairs with a little chuckle.

Nash gave my ass a slap on
the way past. “How’s them cheeks, minx?” He winked at me. He knew damn well
how they were.

I wrinkled my nose up at
him. “Hmph! Wouldn’t you like to know.” I put my hands on my hips, looking
down on him from a couple of steps above. I eyed him critically, frowning. He really
looked beat. “Have you eaten anything today?”

“Yeah, I had something at
lunch.”

“Well, go around front and
get yourself a sandwich. The new girl, Barbie, will make you one. Tell her I
said it was on the house.” I winked at him. “One of the perks of dating the
owner.” I turned and jogged up the stairs, Nash’s laugh following me up.

***

I chowed down on leftover
fried chicken, spinach casserole and mashed potatoes. I didn't know where Tess
was, probably with that guy she hooked up with the night of the meteor shower.
The message she had left was rather vague, something about needing to see a man
about putting up some shelves. It didn’t make any sense to me until I
remembered an episode of
an old TV show called
Three’s Company
that we had watched together. I’d
have to give her the third degree next time I saw her.

I was enjoying the peace and
quiet, until Gran showed up. I hadn’t seen her in almost two weeks. I had
begun to think that she had finally crossed over - she’s a spirit that
technically haunts me, in case you weren’t aware of that fact. Maybe Gran
crossing over would be a good thing, because all we ever seemed to do these
days was argue.

“Still have that bloodsucker
living with you, I noticed.” Gran was rather prejudiced against vampires, something
that I didn’t realize when she was alive.

“Yes, he’s still living here
and he will probably be living here for a long time,” I replied. Gran made a
sour face. “Just what is your problem with vampires, Gran?” I crossed my arms
and glared at her.

“Vile, unnatural creatures, go
against the laws of nature.”

“Seriously? This coming from
a woman who has been dead for over seven years?” I stared at her
incredulously.

Gran made a face. “Well, and
they knocked up my daughter and now she’s dead.”

I made a sound of disbelief.
“And so you’re going to hold that against the entire race?” Gran was being
ridiculous. I wonder if ghosts can go senile?

“How do you know that that
Isaac fellow isn’t the one that did it?” Her spectral body sputtered for a
moment and I thought she was going to disappear.

“You don’t really believe
that, besides I know who my father is now.” Gran froze and turned her head
slowly to look at me directly. “And you know it too,” I added angrily. “How
long have you known? Did you know right from the beginning?”