Sworn to Be His (The Archer Family Book 3) (8 page)

"Do you think it's possible Zac could be involved here?"

For a moment Jade was silent, then she said, "Zac? You mean like he killed her?"

"Possibly. Or maybe he told someone she informed. Maybe he's the guy on the inside. He's the newest in the group. It would make sense."

"But..." Jade looked blankly out at the road for a moment, then she said, "You know, I think this is about jealousy."

"Jealousy?" Derrick raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, you're jealous of my feelings for Zac, so you're going to pin all this on him?"

"You have to be out of your fucking mind." He said it casually, but inside his stomach was roiling.

Her feelings for him? As in, her continued feelings for him? Like what they'd done had been nothing to her?

Was he still just a pawn in this ridiculous game she'd concocted? He'd thought...

But it didn't matter what he thought. That wasn't important right now. Right now, what mattered was justice.

"How crazy would I have to be in order to pin a murder on someone because I thought you had the hots for them?"

"That's not really the question at hand, is it?"

"I really think it is." He shot back.

"You know, I'm surprised at you. That you would react like this. If you have feelings for me, you can just come out and say them."

"What, like you would?" He shot back a little too quickly, and she was silent as they rolled into the parking lot in front of the station.

"You know this makes sense," he said and she studied him for a long moment, her blue eyes clear and shrewd as she surveyed him.

"I know that you're jealous. What else it is, I don't know. Maybe you're trying to make me feel like this isn't my fault like you did before."

"You think I told you all that because..."

"I don't know why you do anything, but I'm not buying it." She sniffed and he gripped the steering wheel harder as she opened the passenger side door.

Everything. He'd told her everything about his past, his secrets, and what had she done? Ignored it.

He gritted his teeth, and when the door had closed behind her, he backed out again and sped back onto the street.

"
I
'm an idiot
." Jade stared down at her cat, not bothering to scold the tabby for jumping up onto the table for the third time that evening.

At this point, she was just glad to have someone to commiserate with. Someone who, based on their indifference, knew exactly how colossally she'd fucked up today. After everything Derrick had shared with her, why couldn't she just put everything aside and tell him the one thing that still hung between them, unspoken?

That it was him she wanted. That nobody mattered but him.

That she...cared for him.

She stirred her coffee lazily with her spoon and then took a long sip. She'd have to come up with some way to make this up to Derrick. And she would. Just as soon as she worked up the courage to see him again.

She glanced out the window, studying the droplets of rain careening down her window panes. It was the perfect night for a good cup of coffee and some well-deserved sleep. Maybe if she went to bed now, things would seem slightly less fucked up in the morning.

Maybe—

The doorbell clanged in the front of the house and she got up from the dining room table and shuffled into the adjacent room, careful not the look at the spot where she'd made love to Derrick on her living room floor.

Again the doorbell rang and she sprinted the last few feet before swinging the door open.

Then there he was, rain dripping down his nose and making his dark grey shirt cling to his muscles. Derrick, his dark hair soaked through.

"Can I come in?" He asked, and she stepped aside wordlessly.

"I was just thinking about you. I—"

"No. You need to know something." He cut her off.

"Derrick," she said.

"Jade, I'm not jealous. I've never been a jealous man and I have to tell you and I'm still not."

"I—"

He held up a hand to silence her, then took another step toward her until his wet clothes began to dampen her own. "I can't be jealous because I know you're mine and I can have you whenever I want you. I know that you want me."

He cupped her chin in one hand and lifted her face to his. "I know you want me right now."

She couldn't deny it was the truth. The second he stepped into the room, her heart had beat fast and her mouth had gone dry. She wanted to lick the rain from his neck, to taste it on his lips. To feel his chilled skin against her own warm flesh.

"I shouldn't have said you were jealous. And I shouldn't have—"

"I don't care about that, I don't regret telling you anything. I want you to know all there is to know about me."

"Then, what do you want? Why did you come here?"

"Because I want you and I'm going to have you." Without another word, he wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her into a fireman's lift, carrying her up the stairs, down the hall, and into the bedroom. Gently, he laid her down on the bed and then closed the door.

T
he next morning
Jade blinked awake, the world blurry as she shifted in her bed. Or, at least, as she tried to shift. Something big and hard and warm was curled around her, and as she raised her hand to touch it, she felt a long gush of warm air against her hair and smelled the sweet spice of aftershave.

Then she remembered.

Derrick.

He was still here in her bed, his arm wrapped protectively around her as they slept. What was more, if her senses were anything to go by, he was still naked from the night before, his hard length pressed to her back as he slept.

Derrick.

She wanted to sigh just at the thought of his name—like a wistful heroine thinking of their knight in shining armor. It was so strange, so silly to think that for all this time she'd had him right in front of her, only a few inches from her reach, and she'd never understood. Never really saw him.

Not until now.

Gently, she clasped his wrist and ran her finger along the delicate hairs on his forearm, closing her eyes as she studied the heat of his body on hers. As she remembered the way he'd stormed into her house and taken her.

Commanded her.

...Loved her.

But no, it was too soon to be thinking like that. Even if she
did
know him inside and out, the Derrick she knew was her friend, her partner. This new Derrick was her lover, her companion. Maybe even her knight in shining armor.

A warm pair of lips pressed against the shell of her ear, and then she heard his low, deep groan.

"Did I wake you?" she whispered.

A scratching against the sheets let her know he was shaking his head. "No, it's Saturday. I'm on call this weekend."

"No," she moaned. "Can't you call in sick?" She twisted in the bed and faced him. His mouth was pouty in the morning, his cheeks the slightest bit red with sleep. His eyes were still half-closed but for some reason that only made him look even sexier. Brought out the fullness of his lashes.

"Yeah, I'm sure that would go over well. We've got serious issues on the Scaglietti case, and I'm calling in sick to secretly bang my partner."

She curled a leg around him and pulled herself in tighter, until their bodies were flush and the length of his still-hard erection was pressed against her belly. "It does have its benefits, though." She smiled and then he leaned down and kissed her, prising her lips apart to make way for the slow, sinful teasing of his tongue.

She moaned against his mouth, willing him to roll on top of her and stay there all day long. He didn't even have to make love to her. He just had to be there.

A ringing sound hummed from the edge of the bed and then something clanged against the metal footboard. She looked down at the white metal scrollwork to see that it was shaking.

"Dammit," he mumbled. "My phone."

"But Derrick..." She groaned, not knowing what else to say. The truth of the matter was she knew how important the call might be. Knew better than to interfere.

He slid from the bed and she bit the inside of her cheek as he bent over in front of her to grab his phone.

Double Dammit. One more minute and I might have been screaming so loud we'd never have noticed the damned phone...

He checked the call screen, then thumbed the glass and held the little square to his ear.

"Detective Archer," he said, instantly all gruff professionalism.

She clutched a sheet to her chest and sat up in bed, waiting for some clue or sign. He gave none. Instead, he answered in yeses and nos and other vaguenesses until at last he said, "On my way," and tossed the phone onto the bed.

Wordlessly, he pulled on his pants and scanned the room for his shirt.

"What's going on?" she asked finally.

His face was grave when he met her gaze, his mouth a solid line of resignation. "All our notes are missing."

"Wha—what do you mean?" she asked, but she knew. She just couldn't believe it. Didn't want to.

"All the Scaglietti files have been combed through. They found some documents in the shredder, but the rest are just plain gone. If our intel gets into the wrong hands, they might know all about who was working the case, who knows what—"

"But we're police officers. They wouldn't—"

"Kill us?" Derrick raised an eyebrow.

She didn't speak. She knew that answer, too.

"I have to go in and see what we can find on the security footage."

"They're smarter than to leave a trace there."

"Maybe, but if we can find out how Zac did this—"

"Zac?" She blinked.

"Jade, you have to know by now that there's someone on the inside. Zac is the most logical choice. He'll know that, too. I'm betting there's going to be some heavy-handed framing involved. I have to make sure we get the right man."

"And what makes you so sure that man is Zac?" She shot back. She didn't know why she felt so strongly about it. Maybe because she'd known Zac for so long—had been around all his friends in school.

She couldn't have grown up alongside someone who worked with the mob. Those sorts of people were raised in blackboard jungles or in the mean streets of Brooklyn. Not here, not in a tiny hamlet on Oahu.

"Jade, we don't have time for this argument. My only concern is getting you someplace safe right now."

"Me?"

"You worked harder on this case than anyone else. If they're going after anyone, it's going to be you."

She blinked. This time, she hadn't seen that coming. Not from a mile away.

"
Y
ou're coming with me
," he said, trying to keep the raising panic from his voice.

With every second, he saw a new flash of memory. Another soldier he'd fought beside. Another fallen comrade. Will.

If he didn't do something—and fast—Jade's face might just become another reminder of his failure. Another life he'd been too foolish and short-sighted to save.

"Derrick, I'm a trained officer. I had a side arm just like you and—"

"Then bring it after you get dressed. We're going to the station." He hadn't meant to bark at her, but she swung her legs over the side of the bed all the same and made for her closet. As she moved, he closed his eyes, determined not to be distracted by the swell and curve of her body.

He needed to focus. Needed to think of each and every circumstance that might incriminate Zac.

Fucking Zac.

Of course she didn't think perfect Zac had lifted a finger, despite every clue that led him to the scene. Perfect Zac couldn't be held accountable for a single damn thing in her eyes. He was nothing but a dreamboat where she was concerned.

He gritted his teeth and shoved his phone into his pocket before pulling on his shirt. Just then, Jade sidled from the closet wearing a half-rumpled button down and slacks. Without so much as a word to her, he started down the stairs, listening to her light footfalls trailing behind him, then opened her passenger side  door before swinging over to the driver's seat.

"It's my day off." She grumbled again as she bucked her seatbelt and closed her door.

He didn't bother answering her. Instead, he started up the car and headed onto the high street, pushing the engine as hard and fast as it could go. For all he knew, they were already watching her, waiting until they had a clear shot.

From what he'd seen of their crime scenes, these guys were not unfamiliar with messy hits. Even Crystal's death had been a chaotic one with turned-over tables and blood smeared on the bathroom tiles.

He glanced at Jade through the corner of his eye, trying his best to turn his mind to other topics. To better, more hopeful things.

Like, for example, what he'd do when he finally had definitive proof that Zac was behind this whole ordeal.

He had to admit there was some foundation behind Jade's doubts. After all, only an idiot would come into a unit and start causing mayhem within the first week. But then, in that same token, wouldn’t the farfetched nature of it made it that much more likely?

If all signs pointed to the butler doing something, wasn't it still most likely that the butler did it?

He didn't know what to think anymore. All he knew was that he could feel the fury rolling off of Jade in huge, sweeping waves, and if he didn't act soon, she would likely implode.

"We need to get you some Kevlar. At the very least," he offered and then pulled into the front row of parking in the station and raised the emergency brake.

"Oh please. You only just came up with that. You're trying to keep me in your sight."

"Jade, please—"

"Which is strange. Maybe you just think I'd run away with Zac if given the chance and you're afraid I'll—"

He climbed from the car before she got the chance to finish and shoved his way through the wide, glass double doors and into the elevator. She was too quick for the automatic doors, though. Just as quickly she was sprinting along behind him, her blond hair flying out behind her as she rushed into the lift.

"Why don't you just say what this is really about? I thought you weren't the jealous type. I thought—"

"I'm not." He ground out. "I told you, this is about keeping you safe."

"No, it's about not trusting me. Or, apparently, not trusting my judgment. I'm telling you, I grew up with this guy, and he’s not—"

There was a loud ding, and the doors slid open onto the practically empty office space. Here and there a few officers were huddled around desks, but for the most part the place was a ghost town. And in the very corner of the room, with a single light shining through the pane of the window, was the supervisor's office.

"I'm going in there with you," she said.

"It's your day off," he shot back. "Can you please go grab some Kevlar?"

Before he had the chance to argue with her any more, the wide oak door of the supervisor's office swung open and he stood in the doorway, his walrus mustache wilting as he surveyed the pair of them. "Good. It's both of you. I thought I heard your voices. Lockhart, Archer, I'd like a word."

He left the door ajar as he disappeared from the frame and Derrick grit his teeth as he strode toward what was quickly feeling more and more like his certain demise.

Jade followed behind him silently and when they were both inside the lush, dark office, she closed the door and stood at attention in front of Sanders' desk.

"Supervisor," she said. "I heard what happened and—"

"Yes. This breach is the biggest in the history of our unit." The older man folded his hands on the desk in front of him and glanced from Derrick and Jade with weary, watery eyes. "I must ask if either of you have been questioned by any of your fellow officers about the case."

"No," Derrick said at once, then glanced at Jade, waiting for her response. She glanced up at him with narrowed eyes and then gave a brusque shake of her head.

"Detective Flynn and I have discussed it. I've also discussed it with Freddricks."

"I see. And were either of these officers particularly interested in any details of the case?"

"Not to my knowledge," Jade answered.

The older man closed his eyes, then rubbed them with his thumb and forefinger. "You two must understand how suspicious this is. The electricity for the entire building was cut during the breech. We've no footage to lead us to suspects. As the two detectives working most closely on this case, it does look suspicious. Is there anything either of you wish to tell me?"