Page 8

CHAPTER 7

“S o, what exactly are my duties?” Marty asked her father as they made their way through the second security door that led to the back offices, where the evidence locker, files, and backup artillery were also located.

Hank ran a hand over short hair that was more gray than brown these days. It was a nervous sign that Marty was well acquainted with. He always did it when he had to tell her something that wasn’t going to end well for either one of them. Like the time when he had to explain why she had boobs at eleven when none of the other girls did, what a period was, and her absolute favorite, the “sex talk” that had left him hyperventilating.

Definitely up to something, Marty thought, narrowing her eyes on him while she considered him. Even in his late forties, her father was a well-respected and feared man. He was probably in the best shape of his life and he didn’t take shit from anyone. Tristan actually reminded her of him except that Tristan was a lot colder and seemed like he didn’t care about anything or anyone outside of his family.

Hank opened the door leading to the “pit,” where the offices were located. In the corner was her father’s secretary’s desk and in the middle of the large room were several desks for the uniformed officers to share along with a coffee station in front of the small break room, and against the far back wall were several more desks for the secretaries that served the entire station.

Hank waited for her to enter while he held the door open for her as he shifted the box he was carrying to his other arm. Marty had to shift the large box in her arms and the two bags hanging off her arms so that she could fit through the door.

“Hey, Hank,” one of the uniformed officers said as he walked past them.

Marty looked around the pit and sighed with relief. Sunday was probably the best day to do this since most of the officers were on the road and none of the secretaries were working today. Since it was her father’s day off, it would give her a chance to find out what was expected of her without being interrupted.

Hank stopped in front of the first office and cleared his throat. “This is it,” he said with a forced smile, not quite able to meet her eyes.

Marty’s eyes narrowed, he was definitely up to something, she thought before she turned her head and took in the name on the door. She swore under her breath as she read it again.

Detective Black.

“Ah, Dad?”

“Why don’t we have a closer look,” he said, his smile becoming strained as he opened the door for her.

“This is Tristan’s office,” Marty pointed out, shifting the box in her arms as she glanced back at her father in time to watch him wince.

“And now, it’s yours,” he said, still not quite able to meet her gaze.

After a sight hesitation, Marty walked into the office, which was surprisingly larger than her father’s and a lot neater. To her right was a small sitting area with several comfortable-looking chairs along with a small coffee table, three filing cabinets lined the wall to her left, a large plush couch lined the back wall, and two large desks faced each other in the middle of the room. One of the desks held a few folders, obviously just tossed there while the other desk was clearly Tristan’s since it had a computer, pens, and a neatly stacked pile of folders.

“This office was meant for two detectives, but since our budget only affords us three detectives on payroll, Tristan got his own office,” Hank said as she took in the rest of the office.

“Was this the same office the person you hired for my position last year used?” Marty asked as she set the box down on the empty desk.

“Maybe, I don’t remember,” her father mumbled, once again running his hand over his hair.

“You told me that the guy you hired last year fled the station in tears after one week. Did Tristan have anything to do with that?” Marty demanded, having a really bad feeling about this.

He visibly winced before he managed to bite it back, shifted, cleared his throat, and then shifted again. “Who’s to say what happened? I personally thought the guy was a bit skittish. He wasn’t my first choice, but then again, with our small budget, we can’t be too picky,” he explained, still not looking at her.

“Dad, did you tell Tristan that he was going to have to share his office?” Marty demanded as she folded her arms over her chest.

Once again, he smoothed down his hair. “Well, I told him that as soon as we could find someone to fill the position that he would have to share the office. You know how tough it is to compete with the FBI and CIA,” he said, giving her a sheepish grin. “We’re lucky we were able to steal you away.”

“Dad, you know that I’ve always wanted to work here,” Marty said, even as she couldn’t help but wonder what the hell she’d gotten herself into when she agreed to take this job.

“I’m very proud of you, sweetie. I can’t wait until you’re done with your thesis and it’s official.”

“Until then…” Marty said, knowing there was something else that he wasn’t telling her.

“Until then, I’m going to need you to help with paperwork, phone calls, and research. It’s not exactly a secretary job and not quite what you’re going to be doing when you start your official position, but we need the help and you need the money.”

“But this will be my office permanently?” Marty asked, slowly exhaling as she glanced back at the two desks in the middle of the room.

“Yes.”

“What if Tristan doesn’t want to share the office when he comes back from medical leave?” Marty wondered and had to admit that she was relieved that she would at least have the office for a while before she was forced to work with him.

“He doesn’t have a choice. Neither one of you can work in the pit. There aren’t enough desks and there’s no privacy. The files you both work on are confidential, so he’ll have to deal with it,” her father said, shrugging it off.

“Doesn’t have a choice about what?” a deep voice asked from behind her, sending a surge of awareness down her spine and making her breath catch.

It was just so wrong that she reacted to him this way, so damn wrong.

* * *

It felt good to be back, Tristan thought as he made his way through the station. After spending the last month on medical leave, he was more than ready to get back to work. For the past week, he’d been waiting for Hank to come over and rip him a new one for allowing his precious daughter to be caught in the rain. When he finally showed up last night, Tristan was prepared to have his ass chewed out. Instead, Hank told him that he could come back to work on light duty.

Normally, the thought of being stuck on light duty would have pissed him off, but after a month of lying in bed, cleaning, reorganizing his house, and dealing with Shayne’s porn marathons, he was desperate to get out of the house even if that meant pushing papers for a while. Not that he was really going to listen to Hank. He never did and probably never would. His personnel file wasn’t three inches thick for nothing, after all.

He entered the pit and immediately frowned when he saw that someone left his office door open. Everyone knew better than to go into his office without permission. It had taken some time, but he had everyone here trained not to enter unless they knocked, and even then, it had better be important.

“He doesn’t have a choice. Neither one of you can work in the pit. There aren’t enough desks and there’s no privacy. The files you both work on are confidential, so he’ll have to deal with it,” Tristan heard as he neared his office.

“Doesn’t have a choice about what?” Tristan asked, already having a good idea what they were talking about. He leaned back against the doorframe and took in Hank’s guilty expression as he ran a hand over his hair. Great, Hank was up to something. There was no mistaking that sign.

His gaze shifted to Marty. She looked defiant. That was interesting. He watched her for a moment as she hauled two oversized bags onto the empty desk and placed them next to a box. Then, she grabbed the small box from Hank as the man looked nervously between the two of them.

“Morning, Hank. What’s going on?” Tristan asked casually.

He watched as Hank noticeably swallowed before he forced a smile.

“It’s good to have you back, Tristan.”

“That doesn’t explain the boxes,” Tristan said with a pointed look at the boxes, forcing himself not to look at the woman that every fiber of him craved.

Hank gestured for Tristan to follow him. “Let’s go and talk in my office about what duties you’re allowed to perform while on light duty.”

Tristan threw one last look at the shit covering the extra desk before he nodded. “Sure.”

This should be interesting.

* * *

As soon as they left, Marty slowly exhaled and wondered why Tristan made her nervous. He never made her feel like this before. He used to be her peace, but now…

She wasn’t sure how she was going to do this.

She-

“No fucking way!” Tristan shouted, startling her into dropping the book she’d been holding. As she knelt down to pick it up, Tristan stormed back into the office.

Without a word, he picked up one of her boxes and stormed back out. With a resigned sigh, she followed him only to watch as he dropped the box on top of one of the secretary’s desks before he stormed back into the office.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Marty muttered as she grabbed the box and carried it back into the office to find his arms loaded with the rest of her bags.

“Get out,” he snapped.

“No, this is my office, too,” Marty said, placing her box back on the desk before she reached for her bags only to have him pull them out of her reach.

“Listen, because I’m only going to say this once. I don’t have time to babysit you. I’m sure the secretaries will play nice and make you feel like a big girl with an important job, but I don’t have time for this bullshit,” Tristan bit out coldly with a glare that probably terrified most people.

It only managed to piss her off.

She opened her mouth only to have her father cut her off.

“Sit down, both of you,” Hank said in a tone that they knew better than to argue with.

With a glare of her own, Marty grabbed the bags from Tristan and put them back on the desk before she joined her father as he rubbed his hands roughly down his face and released a heavy sigh. She watched Tristan sit down across from her, his glare locked with hers as a small muscle beneath his right eye began to tick.

“You’re sharing this office,” Hank announced, drawing their glares.

“Marty has been hired as the Criminal Forensic Specialist for our region. She will not be acting in her position until after she receives her degree.” When Tristan opened his mouth to argue, Hank held up a hand to stop him. “Which will be very soon. Until then, she will be acting as your assistant.”

“I don’t need an assistant,” Tristan bit out through clenched teeth.

Hank shrugged. “Too bad. You’ve got one. She’s also going to be helping with other functions and she’ll observe you when you conduct interviews. Also, you’ll let her shadow you on cases. She has experience from the internship that she did with the FBI last year, but she needs to learn how we do things around here. Since you’re my lead detective, you’re going to take her under your wing.”

“No,” Tristan said firmly.

“This isn’t up for discussion, Tristan. With your education and abilities, you’re the most qualified person in this department to show her the ropes.”

“I’m not a babysitter and I don’t want the job,” Tristan bit out, looking incredibly pissed.

“Then, you’re back on full medical,” Hank said, shrugging it off as he gestured to Marty. “She’s the only reason why I’ve decided to bring you back early.”

He left Tristan to think that over and turned his attention to Marty. “You will work Tristan’s shifts. His doctors and physical therapist informed me that his arm and shoulder are not at full use yet. I need you to take over his typing, help him with any of his office needs, drive him to appointments and anywhere else he needs to go.”

“I can drive, Hank,” Tristan cut in.

Hank merely shook his head. “You’re not currently covered to come back. Right now, you’re not allowed to drive. So, Marty will do that for you until the doctors say otherwise, which means that you won’t be responding to any calls since she isn’t an officer.”

Tristan cursed inventively while Marty cleared her throat. “So, basically, I’m his chauffeur and assistant?”

Hank nodded. “Among other things. We can’t afford to be down by one detective and his injury isn’t so extensive that I would request another detective to transfer here only to ask him to leave in a few weeks. So, since I have other things that I need you to do and I need him back, I’m going to combine your workloads so that I have my lead detective back full-time, you get your training, and we don’t fall behind.”

Marty looked thoughtful as she took it all in. Hank turned his attention back to Tristan, who looked ready to kill someone. “If I find out that you’ve missed one single physical therapy, doctor’s visit or therapy session, then you’ll be back on full medical,” Hank promised.

Tristan ground his jaw but nodded once. He wasn’t happy about this, but he would play along for now if it meant getting off medical.

* * *

“Good. Now, I expect you both back here bright and early tomorrow morning,” her father said with a satisfied sigh, sounding pleased with himself as he stood up and left the room.

Marty looked back at Tristan to find him glaring at her. “Well, it’s good to know that you’ll never have to lift a finger as long as nepotism is still alive and thriving,” Tristan bit out coldly as he stood to leave.

“Yeah, you would know,” Marty said, watching him pause by the door.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tristan demanded.

“Are we really going to pretend that you don’t have any idea what I’m talking about? Really?” Marty asked, blinking up at him.

She watched as he closed the door behind him and folded his arms over his chest. “Enlighten me.”

“Fine,” Marty said, pushing to her feet. She walked over to the desk and leaned back against it, never taking her eyes off him. “How do you think you got this job?”

“I earned it.”

“Did you really, though?” Marty asked in a pitying tone, mostly to piss him off.

He took a menacing step towards her as he said, “Listen, sweetheart, I’ve been busting my ass since I was fourteen, taking summer and evening courses. I had my first bachelor’s degree by nineteen and my master’s by twenty-one. I graduated in the top position at the academy and had the highest test scores. I’ve earned my place on the SWAT team and I’ve earned this, so don’t try insinuating anything else.”

She knew about the night classes and summer courses that he took when he was fourteen, but she didn’t about the rest. She was also well aware that she was being given this part of her job because of her father, but having it thrown in her face by him wasn’t happening. So, of course, she had to keep pushing him.

“You don’t find it odd that you’re only twenty-nine, but you’re in charge of two detectives? One of them fifteen years older than you and has been on the job longer? And you have your own office?”

He took several more steps until she found herself nose-to-nose with him, but she wouldn’t back off. If she did, he would know that he could push her around and she knew better than to ever let that happen.

“You don’t know shit. I’m lead detective because I have the highest rate of solved cases, the highest education, and I put more hours in than the two other detectives combined. I also have my own office, Princess , as you will soon find out because I am the biggest asshole you will ever meet. I give you a week before you go begging Daddy for a new job.”

She kept her gaze locked with his, even though, inside she was trembling. From his words? She didn’t think so. Deciding to ignore her disturbing reaction to him, she bit out. “And I give you a week before you give up and go back on full medical. If you think you’re going to push me around like everyone else, then you have another thing coming. So, you better cut the shit and stop trying to push me around or I’ll push back until you leave here crying for your mother, mama’s boy.”

Oh, shit…

Perhaps she went just a tad too far with the “mama’s boy” comment judging by the homicidal glare he was sending her, but in her defense, he really pissed her off. She opened her mouth to backtrack when he leaned in, placing his mouth next to her ear.

“Better get a change of panties and a box of tissues, sweetheart, because you’ll be leaving here in the same fashion as your predecessor,” Tristan whispered harshly in her ear, sending a tremor throughout her body that had nothing to do with fear.