He was smiling big at me and he answered, “Yup.”

“How many?” I asked.

“Seven,” he answered.

Jeez.

Tex and Nancy needed to consider moving.

“Right, we split up. Hector and Tex on one team, Mace, Ren and me on another,” I decided. “Mace, did Hector brief you?” I asked. On his jerk of the chin (meaning affirmative, by the way), I nodded and looked to Tex. “Tex, you take three houses, give the addresses for the other four to Ren.”

Tex moved.

Mace asked, “You got walkies?”

No. But I was going to tell Daisy the next day to fit that line item in our budget.

“Negative,” I answered Mace.

“Then how we gonna talk to each other?” he returned.

“Uh… cells?” I asked sarcastically because it was not lost on me I was in test phase for Mace and that pissed me off (more). “Just to say, the squawk of walkies won’t help us be stealthy so put your phone on vibrate and we’ll be fine.”

That must have been acceptable because Mace moved on.

“You got a plan for approach?”

“My plan is, Hector and Tex can do whatever they want. You two,” I pointed between Ren and Mace, “are gonna stay out of sight while I approach the door. I’m less of a threat, but I can assess one. I give you the sign, you move in.”

“What’s the sign?’ Mace pushed.

“I was thinking a rain dance on the front lawn. That work for you?” I replied snottily.

“Woman, we gotta know what we’re lookin’ for,” Mace growled.

“And you got enough experience, you pay enough attention, you’ll know it when you see it. I have to be free to operate without fitting in some bullshit move that isn’t gonna look right and might alert them I have backup. So just pay attention, yeah?”

Mace stared at me a beat then he looked to Hector.

Hector was grinning.

Whatever.

“We ready to roll?” I asked, looking through the crew and noting that Ren was also grinning, but his eyes were again burning so I didn’t look too long because I needed to think about what I was doing, not my happy place getting happy.

“You armed?” Mace asked.

I pulled out the stun gun but said, “No. You are. Don’t let me get dead.”

“You’re goin’ in unarmed?” Mace pressed.

Jeez!

“The objective is to call the cops in,” I informed him. “We reach our objective, cops show, I’m a trainee investigator gathering hours. I’ve got a gun and a permit but I’m not licensed to carry concealed, and seeing as I know a few of them, I know cops frown on gung ho idiots who carry weapons. That’s why I have Hector and, since you’re here, you.”

Then I turned toward the door, but saw that Rosie and The Kevster were still there and both of them were looking at me.

“You haven’t left,” I noted.

“You totally are badass,” Rosie breathed.

“It’s nearly four in the morning, I’ve spent the last eight hours in a strip club and I want to have sex with my boyfriend before I pass out. So the longer this takes, the more I’ll want to kick someone’s ass. You stay five more seconds, that someone will be you,” I returned.

They must have taken me seriously because I got two wide-eyed stoner looks and they moved.

“Rosie?” I called when he was almost through the door. He turned back to me. “You drop my name again, I’ll hunt you down and cut off everything that protrudes from your body.  You get me?”

Wider eyes and he nodded.

He got me.

“Advice,” I continued. “Find another job as a barista and spread your joy that way. You keep growing, you being you, you’ll be dead in five years. I’m seriously pissed at you, but I don’t want you dead. Stop being a moron and make that happen.”

He nodded again though this was less sure.

God.

Rosie.

“Now go,” I ordered.

He went.

My man got close to my back and his mouth came to my ear where he said quietly, “Hurry this shit up, baby, ‘cause what you got last night after I watched you slide down a pole upside down while straddling it is gonna be nothin’ to what I give you tonight watchin’ you be badass.”

I turned and glared up at him. “Don’t turn me on while I’m working, Zano.”

His lips quirked.

“Jesus,” Mace muttered.

“Enough out of you,” I demanded, pointing at Mace. I swung my eyes through the crew and finished, “Now let’s go.”

And with that, we went.

* * *

We pulled up to the last house on our list, Mace driving one of Lee’s black company Explorers, me in the passenger seat, Ren behind me.

I stared at the house, sheets covering the windows, weak light coming from nearly every window in the house. There were people moving behind the sheets, and not a few.

Den o’ Tweakers having a late night party.

Shit.

“This is it,” I whispered.

“Fuck yeah, it is,” Mace agreed.

I turned to him, leaning forward and pulling out my phone. “I’m calling Hector. We don’t go in until they’re here. You’re lead. You go to the front, Ren the back. I’m on you. You got an extra gun for Ren?”

“Glove compartment,” Mace grunted.

I hit go on Hector, put my phone to my ear and opened the glove compartment to get the gun for Ren. I undid my seatbelt and leaned around the seat to hand it to him. I heard gun noises as Ren got familiar with it, and it didn’t surprise me he was familiar with guns.

I didn’t let my mind go there, and couldn’t as I engaged with Hector. I told him where we were and to get to us. I also told him their positions. He confirmed and I disconnected, shoving the phone back in my jeans pocket.

“Hector and Tex will take the sides.” I looked around the seat to Ren. “Shit goes down, baby, you disappear,” I ordered gently.

I saw his mouth get tight and the muscle jump in his jaw. This was silent badass for Want you to disappear instead of me, and I belatedly rethought Ren’s ride along.

It should be noted, though, that I loved him like crazy, but I loved him more when he kept his mouth shut and just jerked up his chin.

“The feel of that house, this operation just became mine,” Mace declared, and I looked at him. “You steer clear unless you get my signal, yeah?”

“Gotcha,” I replied immediately, and he did a slow blink.

He thought I’d argue.

He’d learn.

And what he’d learn was that I was a badass. But not a stupid one.

“Stun gun at the ready, Ally,” Mace kept ordering.

I nodded.

We saw the headlights of a Yukon coming our way, the lights going out before it parked.

Hector’s ride.

“Move out,” Mace muttered and we moved.

Ren disappeared quickly. I saw Hector waste no time crossing the yard and vanishing around the side of the house. Tex was lumbering, but his position was closer. He also wasted no time and took it.

I turned on my stun gun as Mace walked right up to the front door.

I stood, back to the house at the side of the door.

He looked at me and gave me a head jerk which I had to interpret on the fly.

I made an educated guess, turned my head the other way, leaned forward and looked into the window at my side.

Mace knocked loud.

All the shadows behind the sheets dropped.

I looked back at Mace and shook my head.

Without delay, he lifted a long leg and put a boot to the door, shouting, “Bond enforcement!”

Interesting.

We had no warrants for anyone inside, but that didn’t mean someone inside didn’t have a warrant on them. So that was a good call. And smart.

I stopped noting that for future reference because the rest happened fast.

Mace went in.

There were noises, thuds, shouts, running feet.

Someone came out the front. I put my foot out, tripped them and they went flying, landing on their front on the cement walk. I moved in quickly, stunned them and they went lax. I grabbed a wrist and started to haul them off the walk so they wouldn’t be trampled if anyone else tried to escape out front. As I did this, I saw Hector running in the front door.

That was when I heard Mace’s whistle.

I took that as his sign.

I got in, Tex coming in behind me, and it appeared Mace had had all the fun, what with the bodies littering the floor and some tweakers cowering in a corner.

But Ren was having fun, too. Across the room, he had hands on a guy—arm and back of the neck. He slammed him face first into the wall, let him go and the guy dropped straight to his back, o-u-t, out.

My man.

Totally hot.

After allowing myself a quiver in my happy place, I took in the space. There was a lot of mess, some not so great furniture, and three car stereos sitting on a filthy, battered coffee table.

That night’s take.

And last, little baggies of meth crystals and drug paraphernalia everywhere.

No weapons.

I looked at Mace. “You hogged all the fun.”

Mace got close and talked low. “We need a reason to be here. You and Tex talk to each one. Get names. Call Brody and have him run them for warrants. Warrant or not, after you talk to Brody, call the cops. They get here, I’ll deal.”

I nodded and turned to Tex to see he’d gone back out and was now dragging in the one I dropped outside. He was doing it by the dude’s hand so the head and the rest of the tweaker bumped and cracked against everything even as he was coming out of the stun. He was probably also tweaking, so that didn’t help.

“Tex, a little care,” I told him.

“Got shit for brains already, don’t matter I stir it up,” Tex replied.

Since I didn’t need a lawsuit on any of my cases, I scratched a chat with Tex about his sidekick do’s and don’ts to happen at a later date and got busy, taking Tex with me.

When I was done, I gave a nod to Mace who was standing sentry at the entrance, while Hector stood sentry at the door that led to the back of the house.

Mace was studying me, looking broody.

Even after Stella gave him good loving and his family back, Mace could be broody. Usually it was hot. Unfortunately, now it served to hide whether he felt I passed or failed.

Whatever. He didn’t sit on the Licensing Board. I failed the Mace Test, I’d live.

I turned to Ren who was providing badass presence at Tex and my backs.

“You good?” I asked.

He was looking beyond me at the wired, strung out, unkempt tweakers, and I didn’t have to know him as well as I did to know he didn’t like what he was seeing.

He then looked at me.

“You sure this is the company you wanna keep?” he asked.

“No. What I’m sure of is that tomorrow and the next day and the next, some person in this ‘hood is not gonna walk out to their car, see their stereo stolen and feel violated,” I replied.

He studied me several beats, grinned and murmured, “Good answer.”

“So you’re feeling me,” I noted.

“Not yet,” he replied.

I rolled my eyes.

When I rolled them back I noted his grin got bigger.

It was then, I heard sirens.

* * *

Oh God.

I was close.

I threw my head back and breathed, “Ren.”

My man, on his knees behind me, pulled out.

On my hands and knees in the bed, I looked at him over my shoulder and whispered, “No, baby.”

“On your back. Knees up. Spread,” he ordered, his voice thick.

Okay, I could do that.

So I did it.

He covered me and not a second later slammed into me.

My back arched and I wound my arms around him.

“Every guy watchin’ you move onstage at Smithie’s wants his dick right here,” he growled, thrusting fast, hard, deep and I focused on him (barely).

He got off on that.

Like, seriously.

Suddenly, I did too.

He drove in, then ground in, his mouth coming to mine. “But this is all mine.”

It so totally was.

“Yes,” I panted.

Inexplicably (and tragically), he pulled out again and moved down my body. His hand went between my legs, his finger working me, his mouth went to my breast and he sucked my nipple deep.

That was all good, way good.

But I needed him inside.

“Honey, please,” I begged.

He rolled my nipple with his tongue, his finger rolled between my legs and my back left the bed.

He blew on my nipple then whispered, “My woman kicks ass at everything.”