Page 32 of Under Fire

Then he appreciated how Hollis kept his narrative brief, sensing Karl and Nyla desperately wanted to be alone and weren’t paying much attention anyway. After Karl took Nyla upstairs, using the flimsy excuse that he wanted to give her a tour of the place, Striker offered Locke and Hollis some of the casserole he had cooked, and they dug in hungrily since they had both missed dinner.

He was surprised by how comfortable she was with Striker as he told her about his wife, Margo, and son, Wade, showing photos of both. He watched a silly grin spread across Striker’s face when Hollis commented just how beautiful Margo was and how much his son favored him. Both were true, but it never failed to amuse Locke how much Striker had changed from a badass to a family man. There was no doubt he could revert to a badass when he had to, but still…

Striker had even shared with Hollis how he and Margo met when he was hired to protect her from a killer. She appeared to have hung on to his every word. As an FBI agent, she recalled the Erickson case and had previously worked with one of the agents assigned to it. She was surprised to discover Striker was the one who’d ended the life of the assassin, bringing his killing spree to an end.

However, what had held Locke’s attention more than anything was how beautiful Hollis looked. Although she had been wearing the same outfit from earlier since she hadn’t gone home before returning to his place, she managed to look fresh, and she smelled good. And for some reason, it didn’t bother him that more than once he knew Striker had caught him staring at her.

Nothing odd there since, after all, he was a man who could appreciate beauty, and Hollis was a very attractive woman. But Striker knew about Sophie, and Locke’s vow never to get involved with anyone connected to any case he was working on. Striker also knew he was a stickler for not breaking rules. However, he was tempted to.

Damn. He didn’t want to be attracted to Hollis, but he was. He would even admit the attraction began the day she showed up at his place wanting to be hired. But one thing he knew was that, temptation or no temptation, he wouldn’t let the attraction go anywhere. Now was not the time or place. Besides, once burned, you resisted playing with fire.

The only reason he was in Tampa was because of Karl, and once he proved him innocent and brought whoever was responsible for Barcos’ death to justice, Locke intended to leave town and not look back.

***

“Did I catch you at a bad time, Detective Connors?”

The man glanced up from whatever documents he was reading, and he looked not only surprised to see her but annoyed. “It depends on the reason you’re here, Ms. Calloway.”

“May I sit down?”

He leaned back in his chair. “Help yourself,” he said, offering her a chair near his desk. She glanced around the squad room. Several other detectives worked at their desks, and a couple of them glanced at her and gave her flirty smiles. She nodded but didn’t smile back, not wanting to give them any ideas.

Thanks to the device Locke had given her yesterday, it detected that someone had placed a tracking device on her car when she was on Elm Street. She decided not to deactivate it and figured whoever was tracking her hoped she would lead them to where Karl and Nyla were. That wouldn’t be happening.

“Where’s Detective Tomlin?” Turning back to Detective Connors to ask.

He tossed his ink pen on the desk before answering. “He left for a dentist appointment. What’s the reason for this visit, Ms. Calloway?”

“I dropped by a couple of those shops on Elm Street this morning. What can you tell me about the missing video footage taken from some of the businesses there? And did you trace the serial number on Barcos’ gun? And what did you find out about the burner phone that was used to call Barcos at the warehouse?”

He didn’t say anything, and then he asked. “Have you had lunch yet?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then let’s go have lunch.”

Hollis started to tell him lunch wasn’t on her mind; she wanted answers to her questions. Then it occurred to her that he might have wanted them to leave for privacy. “Sure, Detective.”

And because she knew the rules that a civilian could not ride in a law enforcement vehicle for personal reasons, she said, “My car is parked out front.”

CHAPTER 13

“So, what do you have a taste for, Hollis? I’m treating you.”

“I should hope so since you invited me to lunch. Or maybe…”

He glanced over at her. “Maybe what?”

“Maybe you didn’t want anyone to overhear our conversation. A squad room isn’t exactly the best place to talk privately.”

“No, it isn’t, but we could have used one of the conference rooms.”

When they came to a traffic light, she glanced over at him. “Then why didn’t we?”

He smiled. “I was hungry, and you said you hadn’t had lunch. So what do you have a taste for?”

“Answers.”