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“Are you sure, sir? Detective Archer hasn’t had any undercover experience.”
“Then I’m sure you’ll show her the ropes. She’s a smart woman. She’ll catch on quick.”
“I don’t think—”
“It doesn’t matter what you think, Matthews. You work with her or you don’t get the case.”
Eloise? How on earth was he supposed to work the case and train her at the same time? Prove to the brass that he wasn’t going to screw up this investigation?
“If I may,” Eloise cut in.
Chambers nodded.
“I might not be experienced, but I can certainly be an asset.” She sent Dante a sideways look. Annoyance glittered in her eyes.
“I agree. You’re a fast learner, Archer. And you’re more than competent. While Matthews works at the shop and uncovers information there, you can work the technical end. We’ll have a computer station set up at the house you two will be sharing. You’ll be doing background checks, monitoring security once Matthews is employed at the shop and working the rest of your magic with a computer.”
Wait. The house they’d be sharing?
“You’ve already closed cases involving car theft, Archer. You know how serious this is. The call you took this morning proves that the problem is getting bigger. As you said, this was a professional job. This group is organized and has insider information. We need that information, as well as to find out how they are altering VINs and bills of sale successfully. Where are the stolen cars going? It’s a big deal.”
“I appreciate you needing the technical end, sir,” Eloise was saying, “but I’d like to be more visible.”
“That’s why you two will blend into the neighborhood we’re setting you up in. Be active. The whole point it to collect viable intel on the car ring. We need to know participants, specific delivery schedules, dealerships they plan to hit, and at the top of the list? The name of the boss behind the ring, without your neighbors knowing exactly who you are.”
Dante cleared his throat. “And who are we exactly?”
“Dan and Ellie Smith.”
Dante heard another quiet groan escape his new partner. A good rule of thumb when undercover was to use a variation of your real name so you wouldn’t get mixed up during the op. She was going to hate this.
“From the intel we’ve received, whoever is running this ring is good at hiding their identity. We need a name. Then we stop him.”
“Are the feds involved?” Dante asked.
“As of right now, no. Far as we can tell, the stolen cars have not crossed any state’s border.”
“Then we focus locally.”
“Yes. I want this one, Matthews. Archer has a good head on her shoulders. Listen to her.”
He glanced in her direction. She kept her chin up, facing the lieutenant. What was she thinking about all this?
“Moving on to the next item of business. Chief Perkins and I have been discussing possible candidates for the sergeant position. Both of your names have come up in consideration.”
He turned his head and met Eloise’s gaze. If she was surprised, she didn’t show it.
“You both have strengths that would work for the position. You both passed the civil test, and even though we haven’t officially interviewed you, we know both of you well enough to determine you’re ready for a promotion.”
Dante planted his feet on the ground to keep from jittering. As much as he’d told his mother he wasn’t sure about taking the position, he discovered he wanted it. Badly. Enough to battle Eloise over it? Yep. Did that make him a bad guy?
“The two of you pairing up as partners works to our advantage. We’ll watch how you handle the investigation, your decision making, how you interact with each other. Then we’ll decide who moves ahead at this time.”
Eloise squared her shoulders. She wanted the job. It was written all over her. She was a good detective. Probably a better administrator than he. But he knew his fellow officers. Could be a better supervisor. Office management could be learned as he went along.
“You’ll both report for a briefing in an hour. Dismissed.”
Eloise hightailed it out of the room. He had to jog to keep up with her.
“Ellie. Slow down.”
She spun around. “Not Ellie. Not now.”
He followed her to her desk. Voices carried around them from officers busy at work, but when he noticed curious eyes on them, he realized the tension around himself and Eloise alerted them that something was up. “Fine. When we start the operation.”
She stared back at him, her pretty brown eyes dark. “I want the promotion,” she stated.
“So do I,” he countered.
“I deserve it.”
“I could use the same argument.”
The thundercloud in her eyes still raged. “Then this puts us at odds.”
“Not during the operation, Eloise. It doesn’t work that way. We put all thought about the sergeant position aside when we become Dan and Ellie Smith. Otherwise we won’t fool anyone.”
“Fine, but I’ll be an equal partner. I won’t be your babysitter.”
“Harsh.”
“I’m a professional and I can do the job as well as you, even if I don’t have undercover experience.”
“But I do have the experience, Eloise. That’s the point.”
“And I have the research skills.”
“Exactly. We both have our strengths.” He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I’ve never done this kind of op, where I had to pretend to be married. It’ll be a learning curve for both of us. Instead of battling each other, let’s promise to work together.”
Her gaze wavered. She was an intelligent woman. A savvy cop. She might not like his words, but she would accept the truth behind them.
“I can’t promise I’ll be a loving wife,” she said, voice lowered, still infused with irritation.
“I can honestly say I’ll probably make a lousy husband.”
She sighed, all pretense of anger gone. “What were they thinking?”
“That we’d make a good team?”
She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “Wait till everyone finds out.”
It wouldn’t be long before the entire squad room discovered they’d been partnered together. He could imagine the remarks he’d have to fend off because this was Eloise he’d been teamed with. Upright and uptight, but smart and savvy.
“I meant what I said this morning. You’ll make a good team member,” he told her, trying to defuse the tension, but also honestly meaning it. She might not like sports a whole lot, but she was willing to try. She’d give her all when undercover. That went a long way in his book.
“That’s when you were talking about the mud run.”
“I was talking about being part of a team in general. I think I can trust you, Eloise.”
“Think?” she sputtered, her eyes hot again. “We’re going to pretend to be husband and wife, live in the same house, for Pete’s sake, and you think you can trust me?”
Jeez. This was getting out of hand. Didn’t bode well for his husbandly skills. “No. I will trust you.”
Her eyes blazed. “That’s right you will.”
“We’ll put moving ahead in our careers aside for sake of the investigation?”
“Yes. And once we’ve concluded the case, it’s game on.”
A small victory, he supposed, but he’d take it.
“Want to grab lunch?”
An are you kidding me? expression crossed her face.
“Work related,” he bit out.
“I suppose we could discuss the upcoming investigation.” Her shoulders relaxed a bit. “How we’ll work together to make this happen.”
She couldn’t help tossing the “we” in there.
“Good. It’s a date.”
Just when he thought he’d persuaded her—babysitter, really?—a whistle split the relative calm of the squad room. Dante looked over to see one of the officers send him a thumbs-up. “Promo’s yours, bro,” he said. Dante grimaced, almost afraid to face Eloise. He wouldn’t have if he wasn’t a Matthews, because Matthewses didn’t run from danger. So he turned toward her.
“You have got to be kidding me,” Eloise fumed. “This is insulting. I’ve worked hard to get where I am today. In two seconds, your friends over there have turned our vying for the sergeant’s job into the makings of a frat party.”
“Ignore them.”
She gaped at him. “And how do you suggest I manage that?”
Before he could pin down his suggestions, Brandy ran up to them, excitement streaming off her in waves. Now it was his turn to want to bolt.
“Mr. and Mrs. Smith?” she squealed. “Just like the movie.”
Just shoot me now.
Eloise sent him a wry look. “Ignore it, huh?”
“Yes. We have an important job to do. These clowns will be apologizing later when we make the biggest arrest in Palm Cove history.”
She raised a brow.
“Okay, a substantial bust. And we’ll do it together.”
She didn’t seem convinced. “Come on, let’s go. Lunch is calling.”
“Never mind. I have things I need to tie up here if we’re going to be out of the office for any length of time.”
Brandy shot him a victorious smile. “And she and I need to talk.” That said, she tugged Eloise’s arm.
Dante stopped her before she was pulled away. “This will work out, Eloise. We’ll be professional and aboveboard.”
The fire in her brown eyes warned him there might be fireworks ahead. Not that he minded an explosion every now and then. One way or another, he’d win her over.
CHAPTER THREE (#ub20c2a39-4475-5acd-a590-3d97380e9bdd)
HE HAD TO hand it to her. She’d shown up.
Dante had had his doubts, considering the grueling couple of days prepping their undercover stories and investigation strategy. Must have been the team loyalty he’d inspired in her. Either that or she planned on sticking it to him during the race. A smart man would keep his eye on her, and Mrs. Matthews didn’t raise no dummy.
Eloise stopped at the perimeter of the teams milling around prior to the race. Uncertainty wrinkled her brow. A slender finger pushed her glasses up her nose. Man, that got him every time. She tried to hide her vulnerability, but it was like he had radar. Probably because he could relate.
Growing up in the shadows of his older brothers, barreling through life, whether it was grabbing the last pancake on Sunday morning or making a sports team one of his brothers had already left his mark on, he found himself competing for their respect. Making a bigger splash to get noticed. Hating when they’d nicknamed him Pretty Boy. He couldn’t help his looks. It was genetics and he was more than that, if they’d notice. Hadn’t he carved out a career in law enforcement because he wanted to be like his father? Upheld the family tradition?
Someone slapped him on the back, jolting him from his jaunt down memory lane.
“Today’s the day we beat you, Matthews.”
“In your dreams, Johnson.”
His taunt was met with a laugh. Yeah. Palm Cove would show the other teams today. The race might be called Maniacal Mudder because of the challenging obstacles, but he and his teammates would show the other police departments a thing or two.
“This is worse than I imagined,” Eloise said as she joined him. “Maybe I can get a last minute doctor’s note and bow out.”
“People have seen you. Can’t leave now.”
“Just what I was afraid of.”
“C’mon over to the sign-in table.”
He waited until she fell into step beside him and led them through the crowd. Before long she’d stowed away her small backpack, had a cloth square with the number eighty-three pinned to the back of her T-shirt and slipped on the rubber wristband given to the runners.
“Guess this makes me official.” She rolled her shoulders and glanced around. “I feel like I’m forgetting something.”
He made a swirly gesture toward her hair. “You might want a bandanna so if your hair gets loose it won’t get in your eyes.”
She worried her lower lip. “I didn’t bring one.”
