Nice & Naughty (18 page)

Diego was making an arrest.

He was done here.

Her lower lip trembled. They were done now.

* * *

H
IS
BODY
TENSE
, Diego questioned his sanity. What had he been thinking, taking this route? He should have waited, got her when she came home. But he’d wanted to do this here, in front of Jade and her family. He’d wanted to make sure they had closure.

And yes, he’d wanted to show off a little. He figured seeing him do his job would either convince her that his being top cop in Diablo Glen was a great idea. Or it’d show them both that she couldn’t handle his job. Either way, he had to know.

“This is all your fault,” Marion Kroger spat at Beryl, glaring at the younger woman as if she’d like to take a go at her face. “First you broke my son’s heart, now you’re getting your sister’s fancy city boyfriend to cause trouble for our family. I’ll sue you, and your family, for libel. For slander. For pain and suffering.”

Diego rolled his eyes.

“Mrs. Kroger, you might want to chill down. Quit bitching at Beryl,” he said. “It’s not her fault your son was an ass.”

Okay, so that last part had been inappropriate. But it’d scored him a lot of points with the Carson women, if their grins were anything to go by. And a man making a major career move had to play to his future.

The old lady gave an outraged gasp. When it didn’t elicit the sympathy she wanted, she gave a huff and slammed her arms over her chest.

“Rudeness is not acceptable. I’ll be contacting your superior, young man.”

“I’m sure he’s been expecting a call or two,” Diego said with a shrug. “You might not want to waste yours complaining about me, though. Better to use it to call your lawyer.”

Her stance shifted from irate to nervous with the twitch of her pudgy fingers.

Diego slanted a glance at the mayor. His eyes sad, Applebaum gave a resolute nod of the head.

“Marion Kroger, you’re under arrest.” Diego followed the announcement with the charges, then the so-familiar-he-chanted-it-in-his-sleep Miranda. He wasn’t positive she heard him, though, because she was yelling at Beryl, who was now hiding behind Ruby. Jade and Opal flanked the other women, making a united front of anger.

And he thought being a cop in a small town would have been so easy it’d be a bore? Despite the gravity of the situation, a grin escaped. To cover it, and to yank control back before this turned into a catfight, Diego stuck two fingers between his lips and whistled.

As one, the five women turned to stare at him, their faces painted with varying degrees of offended.

It was Applebaum who grinned this time.

“Excuse me,” Diego said formally. “But I’m trying to make an arrest here.”

“I thought you said Neal was stealing all those undies,” Beryl said, her tone equal parts shock and horror.

“He was. He’s also been arrested for assault and destruction of property.”

“He’s the one who threw the brick through my window?” Jade asked.

When her mom and sisters started peppering her with questions, Diego lifted his hand again. He didn’t even get his fingers to his lips this time, though, before they quieted to hissing whispers.

“Yeah. Minor charges, compared to his mother’s, but he’s definitely going to do time.”

Marion Kroger hadn’t paid any attention to the charges because she’d been too busy playing drama queen, but this got her attention. Her face stiff, her gaze shifted from Diego’s to the mayor’s and back. Gauging what they knew, probably. Wondering how strong the charges might be.

“I’m innocent of any wrongdoing,” she claimed.

“Human trafficking, harboring and hiring illegals, tax evasion are the initial charges,” Diego told her. The gasps and whispers around the room echoed to emphasize the accusations.

The Kroger woman stared, stone-faced for a few seconds. Debating denial, Diego figured. It’d be harder to cop a plea deal if she confessed.

“I didn’t do anything wrong.” Her gaze shot from person to person, searching for something. Sympathy probably. When she didn’t find it, she dropped her chin and gave a sniffle. “What makes you think you can get away with this?”

“It’s pretty easy when we found proof at your house. A dozen illegal aliens you were hiding, and exploiting in your orchards. Transit records and bookkeeping ledgers recording the funds you were paid as part of the underground trafficking movement.” Diego shrugged. “Sounds like you did plenty wrong to me.”

“How dare you? Do you know who I am? What I do for this town?” The mayor shifted, just one foot to the other. But it was enough to put a cork in that line of outrage. She sucked in another breath.

Diego held up one hand for her to stop before she could get going again.

He’d had enough. They had the truth, it was time to end this. Besides, he had much more important things to do now. Like plan his life with Jade. He inclined his head toward the entrance. The mayor nodded, walked over and unlocked the heavy doors. When they swung open, the two immigration officers he’d contacted were standing there, ready to haul her off.

“It was the pressure,” Kroger babbled as soon as she saw the uniforms. Her eyes widened, her face drooped. She gave a huge sigh and did everything but toss her wrist over her forehead. “The overwhelming emotional and mental pressure. It was so hard, raising a child alone. The expenses of keeping the orchard up, of surviving in this economy. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Diego gave an impressed nod. “That’s pretty good. I don’t think it’ll get you an insanity plea. But it’s a good foundation for emotional distress. You might want to work on the tears, though. It took Immigration Services seventeen evidence boxes and a bus to haul everything and everyone off your property. A little more drama might help balance that out.”

Sandwiched between the two officers, the older woman glared. When one took her arm, she smacked him. “You keep your hands to yourself. Applebaum,” she demanded, “you’d better come along. I want protection against police brutality.”

“Not a problem.” The mayor gave Diego a nod, letting him know he’d handle her from here. After giving Jade’s mom’s shoulder a quick squeeze, he followed Kroger and her escorts out the door.

The room was silent for a solid minute after their exit.

Diego waited.

Suddenly the women exploded. Questions, horror, exclamations. They flew faster than Santa’s reindeer, ricocheting off the vaulted ceiling and bouncing from mother to daughter to sister.

There it was.

He leaned against the tall desk until they got past the initial shock. Jade got there first. Stepping away from the chattering horde, she gave him an intense, indecipherable look. He’d faced down junkies with loaded guns, but had the feeling she could hurt him a lot worse.

“Mom, can you take over my shift?” she said quietly.

The chatter stopped. Her sisters both gave him an appraising look while her mother focused exclusively on Jade. Apparently satisfied with what she saw on her daughter’s face, Opal nodded.

Glancing his way, her eyes filled with too many emotions for him to read, Jade held out her hand and quietly asked, “Can we go for a walk? I need to talk with you.”

This was it. His chance to convince her that she wanted him to stay around. To make her see that they had a future together. One she wanted to experience.

And if words didn’t work, he still had his handcuffs.

15

J
ADE
WAS
GRATEFUL
for the silence as they walked together into
the park. She wished she could use it to gather her thoughts, to formulate how
she was going to convince him to stay. But everything sounded stupid in her
mind.

The gazebo lights were shining already, red and green glowing
brightly against the white wood. She bypassed the Christmas display, heading for
the playground instead.

“Swing?” she asked Diego as they reached the large metal
structure. She waited until he sat, then took the swing next to his, sitting the
opposite way so they faced each other.

And tried to find the perfect words to make her dreams come
true.

“Wow. Big arrest” was all she could come up with, though. Jade
wrinkled her nose. Talk about lame openings.

“You don’t seem shocked.”

“I’m not shocked,” she mused out loud, smiling when he gave her
a confused look. “I mean, I wouldn’t have expected anything like this from the
Krogers. Marion’s always been such a stickler for her reputation, so focused on
advancing her standing in the community. I wouldn’t have thought she’d risk
that.”

“That’s hardly a glowing character testimonial.”

Jade grimaced. She didn’t know which was worse. Harboring what
she’d thought was an unjustified, unreasonable dislike for someone. Or being
clueless that someone in her life was despicable enough to deal in human
trafficking.

“You’re right, it’s not. I guess that’s why I’m not shocked.
There’s always been something about her, and Neal, too, that bothered me. But I
didn’t know what it was. I mean, on the surface, they were nice people.”

“Surfaces are deceptive.”

“You saw through it, though,” she said. “What was it that clued
you in?”

“A lot of little things that when put together just added up.
And one odd thing that really stood out.”

“Like?” She really wanted to know how he’d figured it out.
She’d lived in the same town as the Kroger family since she was a little girl.
Her sister had almost married into the family. And other than a nagging
something in the back of her head—which she’d easily ignored—she’d been
clueless.

“Like Persephone.”

“My cat?” Shocked, she glanced toward her house, a few yards
away past the trees and hedges. “How?”

“She hated Neal. Not that she was overly friendly with anyone,
but him? She growled, yowled and spit whenever he was around.”

Confused, Jade nodded, but said, “But that’s not exclusive to
him. You saw it yourself. She did the same thing yesterday over my rescued
underwear...”

Her words trailed off, her mouth forming an
oh.

“I knew dogs could track things, find things through scent, but
I didn’t realize cats could.”

“I didn’t, either,” he said. “But she reacted the same way over
your thong, and over that brick that was tossed through your window.”

“So you arrested Neal?”

“So I used arresting Neal as an excuse to get onto their
property and have a closer look.”

“Because?”

He hesitated, then saying it quickly, like taking bad medicine,
he said, “Intuition.”

She wasn’t sure what fascinated her more. That he believed in
something so esoteric. Or how adorable his sheepish expression was.

“If I’d followed procedure, like my captain prefers, I’d have
busted Neal and the case would be closed. But I knew there was something else
going on. He’d hatched the panty thefts as a distraction because they had a
busload of illegals coming in. But instead of moving them on out within a few
days, Mrs. Kroger apparently saw a chance to bring in her harvest and not pay
for labor.”

“But if you’d followed procedure and arrested Neal here in
town, you wouldn’t have had anything to justify going out to the Kroger
property,” she confirmed.

“And by arresting him there, I had enough probable cause to
call in Immigration.” He grimaced. “Kinnison’s still likely to bitch
though.”

“Will he mess up your promotion?” As much as she wanted him to
stay, Jade didn’t want it that way.

“Nah. I reported to Applebaum while on this job. He okayed the
bust.” Diego gave a wicked grin. “He gets credit for it, too. That’s gonna piss
Kinnison off even more.”

“Probably not as much as it will losing such a talented
detective to a big promotion,” she said, reaching over to lay her hand on his
knee. She pulled back after a second, though, needing to keep her wits about her
for this next part.

“It’s easy to see why you got the promotion. San Francisco will
be lucky to have you on their force.”

She watched his face, desperate to see a hint, any little bit
of encouragement, to continue. He was in cop mode, though. Inscrutable and
unreadable.

She swallowed hard before forcing the words past the lump of
terror lodged in her throat. “Of course, Diablo Glen would be luckier to have
you stay here.”

His stoic expression flickered. Narrowing his eyes, he shifted
backward on the swing to better see her face.

“I know you’ve got a lot to look forward to in San Francisco.
It’s a big promotion and a much more exciting place to fight crime than Diablo
Glen.” She bit her lip. Then, unable to hold back the words, unable to even
imagine life without him, she blurted, “But I wish you’d stay here. Applebaum
wants you to head up the new police department. Everyone’s talking about it. And
they all want you, too.”

“What?”

Why did he sound surprised?

“Everyone loves you,” she told him, stating the obvious. “At
least, everyone I’ve heard mention the subject. They’re all hoping you’ll take
the position.”

She gave him a naughty smile, then added, “Of course, some of
the ladies are hoping you’ll take it because they think you add a sexy vibe to
the view around town.”

He pulled a face. Then he gave her another searching look.
“What about you?”

She couldn’t read his voice. Couldn’t tell what he wanted to
hear. So she had to go with what she had—the truth.

“I want you to stay. You’d be wonderful at the job. You’re good
for the town, and I think the town would be good for you.” At his arch look, she
put it all out there, reaching over to take his fingers in hers. “I want you to
stay, for us. To see if we can make this work.”

He didn’t say anything. Jade’s stomach pitched into her toes,
but she continued anyway. “I have a lot more shoes. Boots. Sandals. The variety
of lingerie and footwear combinations are endless.”

His eyes turned to liquid heat and he gave a low hum of
approval. Then he shifted, reaching over to lift her out of her swing and onto
his lap.

Jade laughed in delight, wrapping her arms around his
shoulders.

“If I hadn’t already accepted the job, the shoe offer would
have done it for me,” Diego said with a laugh. Beneath the humor, though, his
words held an emotion she couldn’t read. Jade shifted, needing to see his face.
In his eyes, she saw a joy that was almost childlike. So pure, so happy, it
brought tears to her eyes.

“I was going to take it, move here and chase after you until
you gave in,” he told her. “I figured it’d take a few months, maybe some bribes,
but I’d wear you down eventually.”

“I can’t believe you’re really going to stay.” Delighted, and
feeling freer than she ever had, Jade snuggled deeper into his arms.

Strong, warm and so tight she didn’t think he’d ever let her
go.

Good.

His mouth took hers in a kiss so sweet, so gentle, her heart
wept in delight. The feelings that poured through her, through them, were
stronger than anything Jade had ever felt. Or ever dreamed of feeling. He was
amazing. And he made her feel amazing.

“My hero,” she whispered when he lifted his mouth. Needing a
second, she buried her face in his throat, letting his scent fill her, empower
her. She really, really did love him.

“What kind of bribes?” she asked when he released her
mouth.

“I took the job on a probationary basis. Six months. I figured
I’d have convinced you that you were crazy about me by then, and I could give
you the option of us staying here.” He pulled back so he could see her face, his
eyes so intent they made Jade nervous. “Or, if it’s what you wanted, I’d find a
way to set things up here so you, so we, could move to San Francisco. Or Los
Angeles, New York, anywhere you wanted.”

Her heart turned into a puddle of gooey joy. Jade couldn’t stop
smiling. He was giving them a chance. A shot at a future together. Here, there,
anywhere that made them happiest.

“Are you sure about this?” she asked. “You’re giving up a
promotion, aren’t you?”

“I’m not giving up anything. I’m getting everything.”

Diego reached out, his finger tracing the line of her jaw.
Then, his eyes intent on hers, he leaned forward to brush his lips over hers in
a soft promise of a kiss.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered.

Just like that, all Jade’s fears melted away.

Right here, waiting patiently, was her every dream come
true.

Jade giggled, the emotions exploding through her with the
excitement of glitter and confetti. She threw her arms around Diego’s neck.

“I love you,” she declared happily.

“I’ve never had anyone love me. Never had anyone want me to
stay around. You make me feel amazing.” He pulled back, just enough to see her
face. His eyes intent, his expression as serious as she’d ever seen it, he said,
“I didn’t believe it existed, to be honest. But you’ve made me believe that love
is real. That I deserve it, and can give it. I love you, Jade. I never knew
anything could feel this good.”

“And it’s only going to get better,” she vowed, her words a
promise to them both.

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt of
Just One
Night
by Nancy Warren.