Page 9 of Made of Steele
“You can figure it out. Convince them. I have confidence in you.” She held his gaze. “Frame it right. Say it could help you see if the Steele family knows anything about their side hustle. Or you could simply say the heart wants what the heart wants.” A surprise statement coming from the ice queen.
“You’re forgetting one thing.” He didn’t look away from his boss’s inquisitive stare. “I tied the woman up, and she was furious. I’m probably the last person she wants to work with, much less fake date.”
“Then use those charms I’ve seen you train on women. They’re potent and bound to work.”
He doubted her assessment when it came to Teagan Steele, but Harris was giving him no choice. Looked like before the day was out, he would be trying to date Teagan Steele no matter what the very feisty woman wanted.
Teagan tried to relax on the park bench after her run, but she couldn’t wind down or improve her mood. Not even after a three-mile run through her favorite park. She’d run fast and hard, hoping the sweat pouring from her body would wash off the touch of that man’s hands. She even had a soft breeze cooling her body and a hint of sunshine glimmering through pillowy white clouds instead of rain, and yet, her dark mood continued.
Most likely because no one seemed eager to move forward with an antiquities investigation. Sure, Clay was hopefully on the phone with Agent Harris, but Teagan suspected the woman would say no. Everyone but Teagan was approaching this situation logically. Not her. Nope. She was fully fueled by emotions. She wanted this Dylan guy to pay. Oh how she wanted it. Sure her desire went against her Christian upbringing unless you went with an eye for an eye logic, which didn’t apply to today’s world. Vengeance was the Lord’s.
Fine. She got it. She could embrace that thought, but did it calm her frazzled nerves? No.
She hopped up and pulled her phone holder from her arm to check the time and for a call from Clay. Fifteen minutes after eight.
“C’mon, ring already.” The device sounded in her hand, and she jumped before taking control and answering it. “Please tell me Harris said yes.”
“Sorry.” Clay’s deep voice rumbled through the phone. “She was a no go as I predicted.”
Teagan had to fight the urge to hurl her phone to the ground. “Guess I’m on my own then.”
“Hey, I’m glad to help and offer our team’s resources if you need them. Smuggling stolen goods can get dangerous, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“Thanks, Clay. I’ll let you know if I need help.” She ended the call and frustration flooded out of her pores.
She’d predicted this outcome. But now that it was reality? A total disappointment.
So what did she do now? She couldn’t sit back and do nothing as Clay, Mackenzie, and Ryleigh all suggested. She had to act or the anger burning in her gut would set her on fire.
She marched to her car and climbed in. She plugged her phone into the vehicle and woke it up. About to send a text to Ryleigh and Mackenzie, her phone rang. The automated voice announced the incoming call was from her former lieutenant, Merle Gutierrez at Clackamas County.
“LT,” she answered using the nickname the team had called him, including her.
“You available to come in for a meeting?” he asked.
“Now?” Her mind raced with questions. She’d left her detective’s job nearly two years ago and not a peep from him since. What could he want?
“As soon as possible.” That iron fist that he’d ruled his department with rode through his tone.
“I just finished a run, and I’ll need to clean up first.”
“Then double-time it. This is important.” He ended the call.
Curious, she backed out of her parking space.
Could this meeting have to do with the situation with the Conti brothers and Dylan last night? Not likely. But if not, why would he insist on seeing her now?
Teagan adjusted her blouse at the collar and sat in the waiting area outside Lieutenant Gutierrez’s office. He’d practically ordered her to appear this morning. No reason given. She didn’t have to follow his orders any longer, but she respected him. If he called her, he needed her help on something, and she would give it. No question.
She rubbed her wrists. She could still feel the tight straps circling them from last night. She could also feel the gag at her mouth and the sharp slice into her finger. If she ever saw that Dylan guy again, she would give him a piece of her mind. Maybe more.
And she would see him. Of that he could be sure. She planned to hang out at the WOC warehouse until she did. She’d find a reason. Maybe say she was evaluating guards. Something like that. She’d figure it out. He needed to be told off and paid back for his rude treatment. He’d said her life was in danger, but the Contis weren’t killers. She’d worked with them for years, and they were just big teddy bears.
The office door opened, and Lieutenant Gutierrez poked his head out. He still wore his silver hair cut in a high and tight military style, and the same deep wrinkles grooved his high forehead.
He beamed a tense smile her way. “Steele. Good. Glad you’re here. Come in.”
He disappeared into his office, and she stood. She smoothed her hands down her dress slacks and brushed her hair over her shoulder. She’d almost automatically pulled it back like she had when working as a sworn officer, but she was a civilian now. No need to consider how she would appear to her fellow deputies and people she stopped while on patrol. She could wear her hair however she wanted.
