Page 55 of Made of Steele
Kelsey cocked her head. “I heard you’d retired, so what’s with you being back on the force?”
“Special assignment for this one investigation.”
“Then it must be an important one.”
Drew held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t give away any details.
“Let’s say time is of the essence,” Teagan said, and Drew let out his breath.
Kelsey’s head bobbed in a serious nod. “Then I’ll quit jabbering and get to helping you learn the identity of these four unfortunate victims.”
15
After the day they’d had, Drew really didn’t want to be in a restaurant. He wanted to chill at Teagan’s house, maybe in front of the fire, and justbe. Something he hadn’t done in a very long time. Maybe hadn’t done since his dad died. He’d immediately taken over caring for his mother, and he still felt responsible for her. Would that ever go away? No. She needed him, and he needed her.
But he would do his job. He’d done a lot of UC things he didn’t want to do, and he only had a short time left as Dylan Crane. At least the meal came with the chance to sit across a secluded table in a comfy booth from Teagan in his favorite Chinese restaurant. Even if she was here because of the op and not because he’d legitimately asked her out.
A teenage server with a serious case of acne and slicked back hair the color of carrots dropped off their spring roll appetizers. He set a plate in front of Teagan, and she flashed him a smile. He offered a flustered grin in return, then hurriedly dropped Drew’s plate and fled.
Great.She was flirting with a teenager. Okay, fine—not flirting—just being kind. Drew was jealous. Despite his earlier objection he’d made about dating, he’d fallen for her. How could he fall for her so fast and hard?
Because she was everything he ever wanted in a woman and more. Or at least it seemed like it, based on what he knew about her.
She shifted in her chair and nudged her holster to the side under her soft-looking suit jacket in a warm lime green that she’d changed into before dinner. Another thing he liked. A woman who could handle a gun was his kind of woman. Very appealing.
She dipped a spring roll in sweet and sour sauce. “I wish Nick would get back to us.”
“About the sword and circle?” he asked.
“Mostly that, but about anything, actually. I know it’ll take Kelsey some time to get the remains back to her bone lab to analyze, and Dr. Albertson won’t autopsy the other two bodies until tomorrow. So we’re really at a standstill on learning the victim’s identities.”
He took a long sip of his soda. “I’m hoping tonight’s meeting will reveal something.”
“Like what?”
He shrugged. “It’ll be my first foray into the Conti’s drug smuggling, and I hope it’ll shed light on the antiquities.”
“You really think Rossi is behind both?” She chomped off a crunchy bite of the spring roll.
He grabbed one too and plunged the end into the sweet sauce. “I think the brothers use the same shipping containers and routes for both. The US might not get most of its heroin from Iran anymore, but we still import a lot, and the robbing of these sites is done by terrorists to fund their efforts. Same with the drugs. I suspect it’s the same people behind both.”
“Stop one and you stop the other.”
“Exactly.”
They fell silent and finished their appetizers. The waiter arrived with a steaming plate of mushroom chicken for Teagan and spicy General Tso’s chicken for Drew. The guy quickly backed away.
Drew spooned a big helping of the crispy chicken covered in sauce onto his plate. “Want to share entrees?”
“I was hoping you would ask.” She looked at him. “Would save me from grabbing your food without permission.”
“You planned a sneak attack, huh?” He laughed, and it felt good.
“Hey, we need to look like we’re dating for real, and that’s what I would do when I felt comfortable with the person I’m dating.”
“Was it a plan to make us look good to any observer or because you feel comfortable with me?”
“Comfortable.” She spooned a large chunk of his crispy chicken and plopped it on her plate next to a giant mushroom. She picked up her chopsticks and broke them apart. “What I’m not comfortable with are these things, so don’t judge me.”
