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“’Night.”

Closing the door behind me, I let my head thunk back against the door, staring at my lonely bed.

Picturing Andi next door, letting those jeans slide down her curvy thighs, unhooking the bra holding her breasts aloft, only made it worse.

I stumbled toward the shower, stripping my shirt away and kicking off my shoes as I went. Twisting the temperature to cold, I stepped inside as soon as possible, hoping the water would chill me, ripping away the heated fantasies of Andi.

When the frigid water didn’t work, I stroked away my demons, hoping to exhaust myself enough to sleep. Staying away from Andi, now that I was determined that we had a chance together, was going to take all the patience Ididn’thave.

***

Sam’s bleary-eyed glare as he blew on a cup of coffee at the courthouse made me feel better about my own life choices. He’d clearly continued drinking the night before and was paying for it today. Dark bags under his eyes were barely covered by light makeup, and his normally perfect hair hung as lifeless as his limp red shirt.

By comparison, I at least felt relatively fresh after my morning shower. Never mind that I had to stroke it out again after imagining Andi showering in the next room left me harder than rock. Jeannie would say I was acting like a randy teenager. And she’d be right.

Keeping my mind on the trial was difficult enough before I’d kissed Andi. Before I’d enjoyed the supple heat of her thigh beneath my hand. Thoughts of what I was missing kept me on edge.

“What?” I grumped at Sam, annoyed by his narrow-eyed perusal.

I sipped at my coffee, trying to let it soothe the irritation. The trial wasn’t Sam’s fault. Being cooped up, so close to Andi, and yet unable to do anything about it was absolutely not his fault. But his stare rubbed me the wrong way.

“I know people.”

His ominous words made me frown. “Good for you?” the sarcasm leaked out, and I felt briefly guilty for acting the ass. Still, with little sleep, cryptic threats weren’t exactly hitting my sweet spot for conversation.

I’d tossed and turned all night, in part over my lust for Andi, and partly due to the strange hotel room. Imagining her beyond the thin wall didn’t help.

We were called into court before Sam could elaborate or I could talk with Andi, but judging from her tired eyes and the yawns from the other jurors, no one had slept well.

Closing arguments were scheduled to wrap up today, which meant jury deliberations would begin. The end was near. Pretty soon, I wouldn’t see Andi and the others daily. We’d go our own ways. Me, back to dispatch, and Andi back to her job. Would the return to reality change things between us? We’d had more time together in the last couple of days than we’d had in the last fifteen years.

I liked to think we gained a new understanding of each other, a new appreciation. But once reality intruded, the pressures of work and opposing schedules, would we fall back into old habits?

Her secret smile as she caught my eye over her cup of coffee reassured me that our connection could stand the return to regular routines. Chemistry like ours didn’t disappear overnight.

Everyone looked weary by the time closing arguments ended. The judge gave us instructions before directing us back to the jury room to cast our votes. Judge Ye appointed Shelly as the foreperson, responsible for corralling the rest of us into a decision. Given Shelly’s talent at arm-twisting us into a night of karaoke, she’d picked the right person for the job.

“I know we’re all tired and it’s getting late, but I want to see how we’d all vote right now. We have five counts in front of us. Andi is passing around slips of paper. Write your verdicts, numbering them one to five for each charge we have to decide on.”

The room was mostly silent as we scribbled. Group work had never been my favorite, and voting this way seemed like the ultimate test. Had everyone else considered the facts I had?

Randy Shepherd was a dick, for sure. I was convinced he’d broken the law, numerous times, in his attempts to terrorize Alex Hernandez. The pressures of professional athletics were hard enough without adding crazed fans to the mix.

I numbered my slip one through five before scribbling my verdict for each: guilty.

There could be no other answer after the evidence and testimony we’d been presented with.

We passed in our slips to Shelly, who tallied them silently.

“It’s a mixed bag, folks. Let’s go back to the hotel, eat a good dinner, and get a peaceful night’s rest. Tomorrow, we’ll work out the kinks in our voting and get this done. We need to be unanimous in our decisions.”

I wished I had Shelly’s confidence. Our initial count was a long way from a verdict.

We gathered our things, and I stuffed my latest knitting project into my bag before joining the others in front of the courthouse. They’d asked us to leave our cars at the hotel, choosing to transport us to and from court in the hotel’s shuttle for safety.

“You look exhausted,” Andi said as she sidled up next to me.

I smiled tiredly back. “I am.”