Free Justice for Corrie (Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Book 3) by Susan Stoker

sticking out from under the right sleeve of his shirt.” Emily wrapped it up. “He’s got prominent cheekbones and a square jaw. Brown eyes, full lips, no piercings that I can see. In short? I might pitch for the other team, but I’m telling you, he’s fucking hot .”
    Corrie chuckled and shook her head at her friend. She couldn’t help but be pleased that Quint was good-looking. It wasn’t that she put a lot of stock into a person’s looks, because honestly, there were a lot of other factors that were way more important to her considering she couldn’t even see him to appreciate what he looked like, but even without her sight, she could easily imagine how good-looking Quint was. Emily’s description matched his voice to a T. She tried to play it down. “Whatever.” Corrie’s voice got sincere. “Thanks for being here for me, Em. Seriously. I love you.”
    “You’re welcome. We’re here for each other . Always. Never forget it. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.”
    “Come here.” Corrie held out her arms and smiled as Emily wrapped hers around her. They embraced and held on until Quint came back across the room to them. “You guys okay?”
    Corrie pulled away, smiling. “Yeah. We’re good.”
    “Okay. Emily, Dax should be here pretty quickly. He was already out finishing up an investigation. He said he’d swing by here and collect the letter. I know you know this, but don’t touch the envelope again. We’ll probably need you to come down to the station and give your fingerprints so we can exclude yours when examining it.”
    “No problem.”
    “Oh, but Em, what about that warrant for your arrest back in New York?” Corrie’s voice was serious and urgent—and she waited a beat before succumbing to the smile she’d been holding back.
    Emily burst into laughter and choked out, “Oh my God, Cor, you should’ve seen his face.”
    Corrie laughed along with her friend. It felt good to laugh and tease Quint. She and Emily used to play tricks on people all the time. Corrie knew she should probably be freaking out about the letter and the threat that obviously came with it, but she couldn’t work up the energy. Her impending date with Quint was first and foremost in her thoughts at the moment. Later that night she’d probably freak out about the letter, but for now she was more excited about spending some time with Quint.
    Frustrated that she probably wasn’t going to have the luxury to not think about what it said, she resigned herself to seeing if she could get Quint or Emily to read it to her before they left. At least that way she’d get the worst of it over with. Then maybe, if the date went well, she could think about that rather than whatever the contents of the stupid note were.
    “You’ll pay for that, sweetheart,” Quint mock threatened, putting his arms around her from behind.
    Corrie leaned back against him, loving the feel of him along the length of her body. He was a few inches taller than she was, and because he wasn’t wearing his uniform or bulletproof vest, she could feel his hard strength, so different from her own. She didn’t dare back all the way into him, it was too soon for an intimacy like that, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she aroused him at all.
    Stopping those kinds of thoughts before they could strengthen, she asked, “Will you read me the letter, Quint?”
    “No.”
    Corrie turned around and put her hands on her hips, not expecting his quick, blunt response. “What? Why not?”
    “You don’t need to hear it.”
    “Yes, I do. It was addressed to me . And how can I keep myself safe if I don’t know what I’m up against?”
    “First of all, you won’t have to keep yourself safe…you’ve got me, and the department, and all of my friends at your back. Secondly, I don’t want you to hear it.”
    Corrie nodded. “I know you don’t, I’m not doing cartwheels about it myself, but I’m not five years old. It’s not like I’m going to lose