Free Blood Bonds by Adrienne Wilder Page A

wide, hoping it looked as painful as it felt.
    Farley threw a glare in her direction and she shrugged.
    He turned back to Claire, all smiles and bedroom eyes. “Hey look, I’ve got tickets to the movies tonight. I was hoping you’d want to go with me.” Good one. Buy the tickets first, then ask. ‘Cause if she did have any plans she’d feel guilty that he wasted part of his measly paycheck. “And I made reservations at that little Italian place you like so much.”
    Whoa, no wonder he didn’t have the cash to pay for Haley’s tires.
    Claire smiled. “That’s so sweet. Dinner and a movie. I’d love to.”
    Haley popped her head around the monitor and said, “I hear that new hack and slash is good ...
Friday the Thirteenth
, I think? Lots of T and A, if you get my drift.” The suggestion earned her another searing glare from Farley.
    She had to give him credit. He was getting good at the stink eye look. He gave her his back. Haley rolled her eyes and went back to not reading her email while Farley eased in for the kill. He slipped an arm around Claire’s shoulders and walked her to the door. And Haley didn’t fail to notice how he angled the Human on the other side so Claire wouldn’t be able to catch any of the disgusted stares she might toss her way.
    The door clicked shut and Farley’s shadow rained all over her desk again.
    “I think you’re jealous.” His tone suggested he was excited by the concept.
    “No, I’m not jealous.”
    “Not even a little?” He pinched his fingers together.
    Haley sighed and propped her chin on her hand. “Would it be a turn on if I was?”
    “Yes” He eased a little closer to her desk.
    “Then no.”
    Farley leaned in and raked his teeth across her cheek. “Don’t wait up.”
    Haley growled as he sauntered out of the room laughing.
    Damn him. Farley was going to wind up in some serious shit one day. He had no idea how possessive Human women could be. The thing was, it was never him they went after. It was almost always her.
    Her door opened.
    “I’m still not jealous, so you can take your happy ass--”
    She snapped her mouth shut. It was Detective Bauer. The man leveled
    his dark eyes on her. She said, “Sorry, I thought you were--”
    “Are you busy?” That’s Bauer, right down to business.
    “Um, no. What can I do for you?’ Haley stood up and straightened her jacket.
    “You sure? I know you had a bit of a rough start this morning.”
    Great. He’d probably been down in the common room watching it on the flat screen with the rest of the uniforms. The Center didn’t have a common room; it had a break room, equipped with four vinyl chairs that had escaped from the sixties, and a half-working coffee maker.
    “Yeah. About that...” Damn, how did she go about explaining this one? Especially to Bauer? “Nice suit.” Oh great, that was brilliant.
    Bauer smiled and touched the dark coffee jacket like he was still taking in all the new and shiny it was giving out. His large, equally dark hands adjusted the already perfect lapels. “The wife picked it out.”
    She’d done a good job. Haley had never met the woman, but she knew how to dress her man.
    “It looks nice on you.” An awkward silence lingered for too long.
    Bauer cleared his throat. “Look, I’ve got a lawyer downstairs in the Tank with a busted nose screaming lawsuit. His supposed-to-be client is in interrogation room six, licking the blood off his fingers like he’s just gone to KFC. So, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass what those idiot reporters blabber all over the news on things they know nothing about. And those boys at the PD know you keep their asses out of the hospital on a daily basis, so they won’t dare talk smack about anything.” He crossed his arms, uncrossed them, and then scrubbed a hand over his half inch brush cut.
    Haley tried to knock the stupid grin off her face but it wasn’t going anywhere. “Interrogation room six?”
    “Yeah...”
    She motioned to the door.